A new experience for the Maasai Mara

To call the sprawling savannahs of the Maasai Mara ‘breath-taking’ would be an understatement of some magnitude. A world-famous destination, The Mara, as it is sometimes known, is where travellers go to experience safari in the truest sense of the word. Incredible closeness to wildlife in an extraordinary setting, made possible by the indigenous Maasai people..
 
Undoubtedly, one of the most sought-after locations in the Maasai Mara is Ishara. It’s a luxury experience, yes, but one with conservation right at its very heart. It follows a ‘leave no trace’ ethos that treats The Mara with the utmost respect and is in tune with nature. Photography plays a big part in this and guests at Ishara, of course, are keen to document their time on safari, so it made absolute sense to partner with Canon Central and North Africa and open a Canon Experience Centre at the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The centre means that guests have ‘touch and try’ access to range of cutting-edge Canon cameras, lenses and binoculars, as well as access to a professional photography mentor, who can offer one-to-one tuition on-site or accompany them on a game drive for exciting live photography lessons.
 
And while this creates an exceptional experience for visitors to the Maasai Mara, the Canon Experience Centre isn’t simply a space for entertainment. Many indigenous people of Maasai Mara are employed as tour guides and, as such, they are literally on the front line of the conservation effort in The Mara. It is their careful stewardship of the land that protects The Mara from poaching and other forms of environmental degradation. Raising awareness of the issues around this delicate ecosystem and the role of the Maasai people in it is absolutely essential.

An important step to achieving this is through education. Canon’s Miraisha Programme has been working with communities throughout Africa since 2014. It provides comprehensive skills training and supports photographers, videographers, filmmakers and print business owners to enhance their skill sets. The new Canon Experience Centre at Ishara will host Maasai Guide training and mentorship programmes that last three months, teaching participants the fundamentals of photography and technical training to use professional level Canon kit, as well as the impressive on-site professional editing and print studio. They will then move on to learning how to educate others. This adds a new layer of capability to the guides skills, as well as encouraging them to create content that shows life in the Maasai Mara through their unique perspective, and this authentic documentation can support a deeper understanding of society and ecology in The Mara.

An important part of this educational offering also lies in the diversity of training. The programmes will actively encourage women to come forward and train to be Maasai Tour Guides. Typically, access to education is limited for the people of the Maasai overall, but in particular women and girls, for whom investment in schooling largely does not make sense because they are married young and assume the role of wife and mother. However, community education from programmes such as Miraisha is beginning to challenge convention and create new opportunities for women and girls in the region. “We are extremely proud of this partnership with Ishara Mara that is rooted in spreading awareness and education, as well as empowerment of the local communities,” says Somesh Adukia, Managing Director – Canon Central and North Africa. “It is the true embodiment of Canon’s core philosophy of Kyosei which means living and working together for the common good.”

Learn more about Canon’s Miraisha Programme and the Canon Experience Centre at Ishara Mara.