We strongly believe that responsible tourism has the capacity to protect a natural wildlife area, alleviate poverty through proper working conditions and contribute positively to the local community.
Karen Blixen Camp in Masai Mara has been awarded Gold Eco Rating certification by Eco Tourism Kenya. Eco Tourism is an Organisation that provides relevant and practical guidance for attaining sustainable solutions to issues of concern for the environment & the welfare of the communities. This is the highest and most prestigious rating one can ever achieve due to measurable eco-tourism practices in the areas of sustainable utilization of environment, energy savings, community benefits and conservation.
Karen Blixen Camp in Masai Mara has been awarded Gold Eco Rating certification by Eco Tourism Kenya. Eco Tourism is an Organisation that provides relevant and practical guidance for attaining sustainable solutions to issues of concern for the environment & the welfare of the communities.
This is the highest and most prestigious rating one can ever achieve due to measurable eco-tourism practices in the areas of sustainable utilization of environment, energy savings, community benefits and conservation.
This award is an acknowledgement of the consistent effort put in by our team and also justifies why we love doing what we do.
We are an eco-friendly camp and we treat our guest to an exclusive safari experience while taking every possible precaution to protect the natural wildlife area, alleviate poverty through proper working conditions and contribute positively to the local community.
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Karen Blixen Camp uses the latest green technologies. Solar system provide all power used at camp, solar panels heats up water for the outdoor showers and sewage system handles all waste water produced.
Karen Blixen Camp has been constructed to run in the most environmentally responsible manner and all precautions are taken to protect the beautiful Masai Mara on which wildlife and people rely. We use the latest green technologies. Solar systems provide all power used at camp, solar panels heat up the water for the outdoor showers and a biological sewage system handles all waste water produced.
Karen Blixen Camp is fully powered by a solar panel system with back-up battery bank providing 24 hours electricity for all facilities.
The solar panels collect solar radiation from the sun and convert this energy into electricity. The solar energy goes into the battery banks ensuresing electricity is also available at night or on rainy days. The benefit is obvious; there is no excessive use of diesel fueling noisy generators and our outlet of CO2 to the ozone layer is kept at a minimum.
The total investment in the solar system with 56 solar panels of 175 Watt amounted to 135,000 USD.
We estimate that with good care, the solar system will last us 8-10 years. The equivalent usage of power provided by a generator will cost 54,750 USD per annum or 547,500 USD for 10 years usage. The cost buying the generator exempted.
We use solar tech for heating up water for the outdoor guest showers. The solar water heaters are centralized into one unit, connected to our main water system, providing hot water for all 22 guest tents on a 24 hour base. We believe the investment in solar water heaters will be returned within 18 months. The benefit is simple; when not using firewood and charcoal we do not contribute to the deforestation of Kenyan woodlands.
Our zero energy vegetable room is made of four walls each containing sustainable produced charcoal. Some chickenwire are wrapped around to hold it all together. On top we have placed an insulated roof. Let the water drizzle gently over the lot and you have a 40m3 cold room, where the temperature never exceeds 8 Celsius degrees.
All wastewater, coming from the kitchen, the guest tents and staff houses, is led into the sewage system. From here it is directed into the septic tank. The wastewater is then mechanically and biologically treated as it runs through channels of charcoal and sand filters. The water ends in two huge soak pits. The surface water is collected and used for watering our tree nursery and bush garden.
Strict waste management system for recycling
Karen Blixen Camp is committed to ensure all waste production is recycled. Organic waste is composted and non-degradable waste is separated and transported back to Nairobi for recycling.
Once a year, an Environmental Auditor reviews our practices and gives us recommendations to any needed amendments.
 Karen Blixen Camp
PO Box 9913-00100 GPO NBO
Karen, Nairobi
Kenya
   Nairobi Office
Safaricom: +254 711 579 001
Airtel: + 254 738 413 916
   Camp Phones
Airtel: +254 788 715 451
Safaricom: +254 713 028 578
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden, 336 Karen Road, Karen, Nairobi Kenya
© Karen Blixen Camp, 2026. All Rights Reserved
