A luxury camp in Tanzania is taking the safari sundowner to a new level. When the rebuilt Sayari Camp in the northern Serengeti reopens this June, it will include a solar-powered microbrewery that produces four craft beers unique to this camp. But the new brewery won’t pump out only beer: it will also make on-site soft drinks, as well as purifying water and producing sparkling water.
Asilia, the company that runs this camp and others in Tanzania and Kenya, has formidable eco-credentials: it has been carbon neutral since 2009, so perhaps it’s no surprise that this microbrewery will be the first in the East African bush. It also works to benefit the local community; Sayari was the first permanent camp in this part of the Serengeti, which provided employment opportunities for residents living on the edges of the park. The camp is entirely run by Tanzanians, and some of the camp's original team are former bush meat poachers.
"I am proud to know that we played a pivotal role in creating a conservation economy there," Jeroen Hardwerwijk, co-founder of Asilia, said. "The presence of tourism helped drastically reduce the bushmeat poaching, but it was only successful because we worked hand-in-hand with the local communities, creating benefits for them from the new tourism industry. This is the model that we endeavour to replicate in all our new projects."
The camp’s safari shop will include a selection of Tanzanian products from local cooperatives, selling jewellery hand-beaded by Maasai women, organic single-origin teas from the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro and blended with spices from Zanzibar and fair-trade homewares made by East African women.
The camp will include 15 tents, including a family tent that can sleep up to five, and wildlife roams through the unfenced area.
Sayari is expected to open on 1 June, and rates start at US$815 per person per night.
