We enter a solidarity trip through Kenya, in which we will learn about the work of ADCAM, the Maasai, and we will be able to see the wonderful Kenyan fauna up close.
The CEO of Kalea Group, Fran González, and our Business Director, Carolina Morán, think that “in this life you have to give and then receive”, which is why they chose to travel to Kenya with the ADCAM NGO: because 100 % of the money for the trip and its experiences (accommodation, safari, etc.) is received entirely by the Maasai community.
In addition, the ADCAM Mara Vision Camp is a space that is aligned with the principles of Kalea Ecofriendly: it is respectful of the environment and very sustainable. It uses solar panels, draws water from its own well, each visitor is provided with a glass and bamboo bottle to avoid generating plastic waste from bottles, the soap that is used is in bars and is made with natural ingredients, and the meals that offered to guests are based on km 0 and seasonal products.
Let’s accompany Fran and Carolina on this journey through the bowels of the Maasai Mara.
William Kikanae Ole Pere, director of ADCAM in Kenya and maasai chief, with kalea Group CEO Fran González.
Live with the Maasai thanks to ADCAM
In Kenya there are 42 different tribes and one of the most important and numerous are the Maasai. There are currently about 900,000 Maasai.
William Kikanae Ole Pere welcomed Fran and Carolina and showed them what their community is like. He is a Maasai warrior, leader of his community and director of ADCAM in Kenya. Together with the Spaniard Rosa Escandell they seek to develop the Maasai community so that it does not disappear, but maintaining their customs and way of life.
First-hand, our colleagues were able to see how ADCAM works around these objectives: Develop education, health, sustainable development, microcredit, fair trade and gender equality programs. To achieve this, the Adcam Mara Vision Camp guest camp is a must.
The Maasai welcomed the guests of Kalea Group with joy, acting as good hosts, dressed in those colorful clothes and jewelry, some of which you can buy in the Adcam online store. Fran and Carolina loved the simplicity of their lives and how much they care about their family and culture. As William told our workmates: “You have clocks, we have time.”
We visited ADCAM Mara Vision School, a school in the heart of the savannah that offers infant and primary schooling.
The boys and girls of the ADCAM Mara Vision School
They are the Maasai boys and girls who study at the ADCAM Mara Vision School, a school in the heart of the savannah that offers infant and primary schooling and with capacity for about 300 students and a residence for those who live far away. Thanks to ADCAM these children receive an education, school supplies, uniforms, food…
In addition to the normal Maasai and Swahili subjects, the children study English, and receive an education with a gender perspective, in which the figure of women in the family is very important. As our workmates at Kalea Group verified, they make an effort to learn, and above all they smile and play like real children, not like in the West, where the focus of children’s entertainment seems to be machines. Fran and Carolina taught them some Spanish words and games from their childhood. And they played soccer with them too.
From secondary school it is very difficult to go to school in Kenya. For this reason, ADCAM is building a FP school, ADCAM Mara Vision Technical Institute, so that young Maasai learn trades related to tourism, the main source of income for their society. Fran and Carolina taught the youngsters typical Spanish phrases related to customer service in restaurants. We encourage you to collaborate with ADCAM. The future of these children deserves any effort.
In addition to the normal subjects, Maasai and Swahili, children study English, and receive an education with a gender perspective, in which the figure of women in the family is extolled.
Sustainable cooking classes
In the kitchen of the Adcam Mara Vision Camp, Carolina, who is passionate about nutrition and healthy cooking, taught the young Maasai chef Ronko several recipes that will be very useful for conquering Western customers: Fruit and vegetable smoothies, sugar-free biscuits, watermelon gazpacho, cold melon and lime cream, fruit and coconut milk ice cream, cabbage chicks stuffed with ugali (very common in Maasai cuisine), a version of Madrid stew with more vegetable than meat… Besides, together they practiced different types of plating and prepared pickles such as sauerkraut and kimchi.
They prepared simple dishes to cook, but colorful, healthy and with local seasonal ingredients. Carolina’s intention was to show a sustainable kitchen, without waste, where everything is used and much is taken advantage of, to turn the products they use every day and turn them into a more modern kitchen adapted to tourists.
Ronko has a natural talent for cooking and made a timbale of guacamole, salad and lentil sprouts that was exquisite. He has a great future as a chef and giving him keys to improve in his kitchen was an honor.
Carolina Morán, Business Direct of Kalea Group and Kalea Ecofriendly, taught Maasai chefs healthy, modern and sustainable cuisine focused on Western customers.
The incredible fauna of the Masai Mara
And what is Kenya without its wildlife? Fran and Carolina were able to see up close different species that you only see in Europe in RTVE or National Geographic documentaries…
Zebras, wildebeests, antelopes, gazelles, ostriches, giraffes, wild boars, buffaloes, rhinoceroses, elephants, lions, hippos… All of them are found in the Masai Mara, a national nature reserve located in the south-west of Kenya that Fran and Carolina will never forget.
Go on a safari with ADCAM and the Maasai brings you closer to the African fauna.
One of the great advantages of collaborating with ADCAM and doing a safari with them is that the Maasai are the only ones in the territory with special licenses in the savannah to circulate off the beaten track and thanks to this you will live experiences as magical as camping on the banks of the Mara River to see the hippos enjoy its waters. On these safaris you are accompanied by three Maasai who monitor the environment and protect you, while another explains all the curiosities of the local fauna and flora.
Adcam surprised the colleagues of Kalea Group with a delicious meal in the middle of the Maasai Mara.
ADCAM surprised our workmates with a meal under a tree in the middle of the savannah. To her joy, among the dishes that had been prepared for them was the cold melon and lime cream that Carolina had shown Ronko. delicious!
From this incredible place we put an end to this great adventure that has left us honest smiles, shared experiences and fascinating postcards to remember. We encourage you to live your own solidarity journey through Kenya, with ADCAM, the Maasai and the wonderful Kenyan fauna. For our part, Kalea Group and Kalea Ecofriendly will continue to collaborate with this NGO whose work is extremely important for the Maasai community and for Kenyan society and fauna.
