OUR SOLUTION
As an alternative to income from tourism, we introduced the “Adopt-an-Acre” plan whereby contributors adopt an acre of land in the conservancy for a year through a donation to the Wildlife Habitat Trust which controls a fund that helps to pay the staff wages, as well as the land leases so that the families continue receiving the rents and the conservancies can continue to exist even when tourist numbers are low as was the case during covid
During the pandemic many of the Porini Camps guests asked how they could help to provide some financial contributions so that the local people continued receiving an income during the difficult times when calamities like the COVID-19 pandemic close down tourism and we came up with the “Adopt-an-Acre” plan as a way of funding the payments to the community at the times when there is no adequate tourism income.
Gamewatchers Safaris pays directly for leasing 42,500 acres of land in conservancies in Amboseli and the Mara, providing an annual income of over US$1.5 million to the communities in rents and wages. This means that in a year, every acre of conservancy land supported by us is creating a protected habitat for wildlife and also generates $35 going straight to the local people with $20 going to payments for land rents and $15 to wages of staff working in the conservancies.
Gamewatchers are asking their friends and customers to support our conservation mission and to help to keep the payments flowing into the communities by adopting one or more acres for a year through a donation of $35 per acre.
As mentioned we have 42,500 acres to be adopted!
To adopt 1 acre for a year is $35, while 5 acres for a year is $175, 10 acres is $350 or for 30 acres the donation is $1050, with $450 going to wages and $600 going to the families.
As a special incentive, anyone adopting 30 acres or more will receive a credit from Gamewatchers Safaris for the same amount donated, to be used for payment of a stay at any of the Porini Camps in 2024 and 2025. So a donation of US$1050 to adopt 30 acres will receive a travel credit worth US$1050 towards the cost of a safari in 2024 or 2025 staying at a Porini camp in any of the conservancies, while adopting 100 acres for US$3500 will receive a credit of US$3500.
Securing space for wildlife and growing our communities
Countering habitat loss through the community conservancy model
Through the “Adopt-an-Acre” plan, contributors can adopt an acre of land in our conservancies with a donation to the Wildlife Habitat Trust. The donations collected will go towards paying staff wages and land leases when there are tourism disruptions, like the recent COVID pandemic. The Adopt an Acre Plan strives to prevent a collapse of the conservancies due to local communities having to fall back on alternative income generation and land use which may harm the biodiversity the conservancies harbor.