When Karsten Ree bought the Karen Blixen Camp in 2012, he initiated a series of initiatives to support and strengthen endangered wildlife and vulnerable communities in the unique and fragile Masaai Mara. In 2016, the Karen Blixen Camp Trust was granted its Certificate of Incorporation as a nonprofit organization to provide a unified framework and infrastructure for the projects.
Together with donors and partners the trust continues to support conservation of wildlife and wilderness, community empowerment, and childhood and vocational education.
Prominent among the many projects are The Cookery and Hospitality School at Karen Blixen Camp, where young men and women are given the opportunity to train as a chef and receive a Food Production Diploma, which enables them to find attractive jobs and income opportunities.
Another major project is the Mara North Conservancy Dog Project, which carries out vaccination and castration of the growing number of free-roaming domestic dogs now posing a threat by transferring diseases and hunting and killing wildlife.
The trust’s portfolio of projects continues to grow and expand, while the trustees work to secure continued funding and management of current and future projects.