VIDEO: In Tanzania, a Ground-Breaking Conservation Project That Works With Locals

A journey to the Serengeti, a place of relatively untouched beauty, should be on every traveler’s bucket list. In this stretch of northern Tanzania lies Enashiva, a creek named for the Maasai word happiness. Here, Thomson Safaris work with indigenous Maasai and Sonjo communities to help them benefit from the thriving travel industry, and to protect the endangered wildlife, including the pencil cedar and bat-eared fox.

“We are guardians of this land,” John Bearcroft—the general manager of Thomson Safaris—told GLP Films as he explained his commitment to helping the Maasai develop a sustainable tourism industry. Thomson Safaris takes advantage of their position within the local village and on the land by offering activities and cultural opportunities travelers can’t experience on a National Park, including walking safaris, night game drives, and dinners in the bush. Enashiva is as much about preserving the land and the wildlife, as it is about empowering local culture and creating opportunities for the Maasai people. Interested to hear more? Check out the video, above.