MEET THE TEAM

Moses and Marion founded and run Mattikoko camp together. 2019 saw the start of construction of the dream: Mattikoko Safari Camp, with the first guests arriving in February 2020.

It’s very much part of Moses’ philosophy that the camp and safaris are done in an eco-friendly way that realises the importance of conservation and helps reduce human wildlife conflict. Equally important is supporting the native people via a percentage of profits going directly to community projects.

Moses was born in the greater Mara ecosystem, in Olkimitare near Aitong. For eight years, his primary education involved a two hour 12km walk each way to school and back. He’d often be delayed by elephants or buffalo along the way, but he enjoyed the opportunity to watch these animals, developing a love for wildlife.

Throughout primary and high schools, he was an active member of a conservation club and scouts. They did a lot of hill hiking and bush camps.

In the holidays, he helped look after the family cattle, sheep and goats and also learned from a young age a huge amount about the bush and wildlife behaviour from his highly knowledgeable father. Part of this was to understand how to track and avoid dangerous animals like elephants, rhinos and lions to avoid conflict with the livestock.

After successfully achieving his KCSE Kenya certificate at Ololulunga high school in 2005, Moses was eager to further his passion for conservation and wildlife. This led him to study for two years at the Koyiaki Guiding School, learning not only mammalogy, botany, entomology, herpetology and ornithology, but also human wildlife conflict, camp management and cuisine. He completed this course, achieving a Bronze guiding qualification.

2006 saw a year of field guide internships with Rekero camps in the Mara and Lewa wilderness trails in northern Kenya, leading to Moses graduating with a certificate in Tour Guiding and Conservation.

Following this, he continued his experience as a guide and worked in the field with various high end safari companies, including Encounter Mara, Salas Camp and House in the Wild.

In 2017 he studied in South Africa, achieving a Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) Level Two Arts of Tracking qualification, specialising in tracking and trailing in Kruger Makuleke Eco Training Camp and Botswana.

He is now a Gold level guide: the highest guiding qualification possible. He’s also a field guide trainer / instructor for Eco Training and a trustee of nearby Enonkishu Conservancy. Separately he has a successful market garden, producing vegetables for the camp and other businesses in the area.

People gallery