Our Story

Tarquin’s parents, Hugo and Rachel Wood, also pioneers in agriculture in Kenya, had been leasing land from the Maasai community and farming it outside of Narok for over 20 years. Hugo and Rachel set up the Cereal Growers Association where they helped rural farmers in the area with best farming practices.

As their farm business grew, they were presented with an opportunity to create a farm on the Mara River, where they could irrigate and grow crops. Tarquin joined the family business to run the Mara farm. For over a decade this was one of the largest french bean farms in Kenya, where beans were grown and exported to the UK. Lippa and Tarquin got married on a meander on the Mara river. House in the Wild was built – a mud hut on a corner of the farm.

Soon after they were married, Tarquin and Lippa Wood took on the Olerai farm and began working with the neighbouring community, with the aim of securing and restoring habitats and making the community benefit directly from wildlife.

With a strong commitment to conservation and protecting wildlife for future generations, the land at Olerai Farm transitioned from agricultural use to wildlife habitat. This transformation fostered a partnership with the surrounding community, leading to the creation of Enonkishu. A holistic grazing management program was implemented, marking the beginning of community collaboration to promote sustainable practices that improve livelihoods, and benefit both wildlife and livestock.

Over many years the partnership with the community has strengthened, and the stakeholders of Enonkishu Conservancy are united in a shared vision for the future of the area. Seeing is believing, so the Woods embarked on several learning trips to understand how livestock and wildlife can thrive together.

“We learnt about the importance of looking after the grass and regenerative grazing. Slowly our grasslands improved, the livestock was better managed, and the wildlife returned.”

In our commitment to restoring habitats and using eco tourism as a force for good, we are creating our own private villa on the top of the Kileleoni Hill, the highest point in the Mara, creating an utterly unique place to experience the enormous views of the Mara Serengeti ecosystem, looking over the landscape from above, bringing in revenue for community led conservation.

​We are so lucky to have the opportunity to build and create an incredible private home on the highest point of the Mara Serengeti Ecosystem. The initial idea was to do a simple fly camp, however the strong winds on the hill in the night blew away those plans. Together with the Sievwright family, every detail has been carefully designed to embrace the conservation story and history of the area, built with grass roofs, water catchment, stone from the hill, creating employment and embracing nature all around.

On this Wild Hill, was where Enonkishu was born, as the elders gathered and decided to commit their land to conservation, protecting the wildlife for the future generations…