The Maasai live within the "dispersal area", which extends north and east of the Masai Mara. These brilliantly clad cattle-herders tend their stock here, but centuries of close association with wildlife have resulted in an almost symbiotic relationship where wildlife and people live together in peace. However, the unique lifestyle of the Maasai is being threatened by the advance of agriculture. This is because co-operative group ranches fringing the reserve have introduced the concept of land ownership. This has altered traditional grazing patterns and large portions of land are now being sold or leased to wheat-growers. To ward off these threats, it is imperative that the people benefit directly from the wildlife on their land.

With the Ilkarekeshe Maasai tribe as its keeper, Kichwa Tembo offers a glimpse into these pastoralists' nomadic lifestyle and blood-and-milk diet, virtually unchanged over centuries.

Efforts have been made to develop good relationships with the local Maasai communities. A pioneer bee-keeping project at Kipas and Ndorobo villages is one of the initiatives. School building projects have been undertaken in order to develop education. In addition, CC Africa has started an AIDS/HIV awareness and education programme. A television crew filming a documentary on AIDS donated money towards the Kichwa Tembo community.

The Maasai receive economic benefits through the concession fees paid to them by CC Africa. In East Africa, the Maasai are our landlords, who derive economic benefit from the presence of CC Africa and ecotourism. We pay rental to the Maasai for traversing rights in the Mara.

Many of the staff employed at the camp come from the local villages, thus providing people with the opportunity to learn new skills from experienced staff at the Kichwa Tembo.

Ongoing upliftment programmes have benefited the Maasai, who have become our partners in the protection of wildlife. This again has profited ecotourism. Visits to local Maasai villages are recommended, thus increasing the local revenue received through tourism.

Our guests play a critical role in helping us realise our dream and our vision. You are our future ambassadors, the meeting place between Africa and the world. You are the engine that drives our dream of advancing the green and wild frontiers of the oldest continent on earth, of helping us to permanently re-establish our planet's endangered species and wild places.