BASECAMP EXPLORER KENYA WINS 2022 ECO WARRIOR AWARDS
We are delighted and hounored to be announced winners of the 2022 Eco Warrior Awards in 2 categories;
- Best Accommodation in Communities Heritage and Cultural Preservation
- Best Accommodation in Conservation through the establishment of the Conservancies category.
The award ceremony was organized by Ecotourism Kenya at the Raddison Blu Hotel, Nairobi where the winners were announced at a glamourous Gala Dinner. The finalists of the 4 distinct categories were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the promotion of culture and heritage within their various fields in Kenya. These individuals, business owners, organizations and community groups all displayed a great passion for cultural heritage and were able to showcase their successful endeavors in the protection of the same through innovative literary works, art, research, initiatives, and projects.
Basecamp received the two awards for consistently showing support for local people and culture as a basic element to preserving the heritage of the land ensuring it remains habitable for people and wildlife and we are proud of the coveted position. We were also highly commended for our comprehensive and sound response to the integration of the SDGs into our corporate strategy.
Our long-standing commitment to wildlife conservation and community development has helped us transform the coexistence of wildlife in the greater Masai Mara and the local Maasai community. Activities by the 158 local Maasai women have helped them light up their homes while providing food, clothing, healthcare, and education for their children. We have also planted over 300,000 trees in the Talek Region in Masai Mara which absorbs tons of carbon. These activities and more enable us to contribute to eradicating poverty, implement social protection systems, support local community investments, and enterprises, and create jobs for the local Maasai community, key focus areas in the Eco Warrior Awards judging process.
This year, the Eco-Warrior Award has been altered to be in sync with the 2022 World Tourism Day theme: ‘Rethinking Tourism: Celebrating Changemakers’. This aims to highlight innovative tourism practitioners in the Kenyan tourism sector who embrace and conquer challenges while striving to make long-lasting changes that benefit them and others. Tourism professionals who excel in striking a balance between the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental needs of their tourism business, are the target of this prize.
Jeremiah Mutisya, Saruni Basecamp Group CEO shared his remarks after winning the awards “We appreciate that our sustainable efforts continue to be recognized across the country and beyond our borders. At Basecamp Explorer Kenya, we’ve always thought of our community and landowners as partners. Right from the beginning, people have been our priority. Visitors come to see wildlife, but that wildlife cannot exist without the support of those that live next to and among it. If we didn’t do anything other than get tourists in and out to see wildlife, there would be no environment left in the future. Our role is to facilitate coexistence we are glad that our work is not in vain as we look forward to ensuring the impact of conservation and community is felt by more people and across the country”.
We would like to thank the Ecotourism Kenya team, the panel of judges and all those who supported us. This is a great honour of recognition.
Read More about Basecamp Explorer sustainability projects in Masai Mara.