My name is Ingrid, I am Belgian behind the creation of the Maasai giraffe eco lodge.

Five years ago, during a safari in the North, I went through the Lake Natron Conservation Area and fell in love with this wild and untamed region. The rift valley, the Ol Donyoi Lengai volcano, encircle this vast desert plain. Only the Maasais can survive there. Fascinated by their culture, the humility of these men and women who live in utter destitution, the harshness of their lives, having as their only pride, their animals. I dreamed of spending a moment of my life there and to give myself the means to stay, I decided to build a small house on a piece of land granted by the village. In the morning, I had the opportunity to observe the herds of giraffes, which gently returning from the river, left their place, in this infinite landscape, the herds of zebu sacred. In Indian file, the animals that, in the dust raised by their hooves, disappeared into the immensity of the plain in search of the little grass that resists on these lands burned by the sun. During my long stays, I learned to interact with my Maasais neighbors, the women came to fetch water, the curious children came to visit me, the warriors wondered what was coming this mama muzungu. I learned to love them. And smiles exchanged sharing little gifts, they adopted me. Little by little, the idea came to create a camp, and then, why not a lodge! Fair trade, which could attract more tourists, create jobs and offer work to local guides, while enhancing their culture. Maasai giraffe materialized, I wanted to embark on a new dream. Having the privilege to be integrated into the community and to have gained their confidence, I launch heart and soul in this new project of immersion in families of the region and thus create links between different cultures. I want to share with other muzungu, happiness to be part of the clan. A few days, in simplicity, sharing a precarious lifestyle, experience living in the present moment, at the heart of the majestic beauty of the Maasai lands.