A Story of Partnership: Why Ol Lentille Feels Different

We wanted to share Ol Lentille with you from a slightly different angle — something that stays with you, the way this place stayed with us. What drew us in, and why we speak about it the way we do.

Ol Lentille is special. Not just because it’s beautiful, but because it’s one of the only luxury lodges in Kenya that is fully owned by the local community — and, even more unusually, jointly owned by both Maasai and Samburu families.

After building the lodge on community-owned land, the founders donated it back to the community under a long-term management agreement. Over time, more Maasai and Samburu families added their land to the conservancy, creating 40,000 acres of protected, rewilded wilderness now enjoyed exclusively by Ol Lentille guests.

This isn’t a token partnership: the land belongs to them, the conservancy belongs to them, and the lodge’s success directly supports their lives.

Why does this matter to your guests?
Because when a community owns the land, they also share the profits. Revenue from the lodge funds schools, healthcare, water access and their lifestyle.

It’s not a donation model — it’s a business that sustains the people who protect the land. That means every member of the community, not just the team at the lodge, has a reason to welcome guests, care for the conservancy, and share their culture with pride.

And that’s exactly what guests feel.
Interactions aren’t scripted. They’re natural — like being welcomed into someone’s home.

The heritage of both tribes is alive here, and guests are invited to experience it in ways that are genuine, respectful, and rare.

There are very few places left where you can visit a real Manyatta, not a staged one. Or be invited to a village celebration. Or learn beadwork sitting on the ground with women who have been doing it their whole lives. Or hear stories around the fire that haven’t been adapted for tourism.

Even the wildlife experiences — like walking with baboons — feel personal and unfiltered.

This is Ol Lentille: organic, authentic, peaceful, and deeply connected to the people who own it. It gives guests a part of Africa that is hard to find now — something real, something rooted, something that stays with them long after they leave.

For travellers wanting something unique and meaningful, far from the usual routes, this is exactly that place.