We are certainly not the first to take to playing with flipflops collected from the beach but we are certainly very proud to have jumped on the bandwagon having discovered that’s it not only a lot of fun but actually, if we get this right, then there might even be a source of income for many. A year ago, we gave it a go and out came Papa Shillingi – our life size whaleshark made from over 5000 flipflops collected from Diani’s beaches.
And since we are getting a handle of what recycling is all about, we thought why not? Chaps like Fadhili and Ben can make a little extra income, maybe it can grow and a few more people can make some income and we can recycle a little extra cash into our projects! PERFECT. We do like this recycling business…
So if you would like to recycle some trash into a little extra cash and recycle a bit of profit into a project…well, then you know where to go…
Anyone that chooses to be a responsible traveler is by nature a unique and special type of person. Perhaps the fact that they are unique is unfortunate because if everyone was a responsible traveler, I doubt we would have as many problems in this world as we do.
Anyways…here’s the deal. Diani, where our home is (yes, that’s what others would call “the office”) home to lots of unique and special people too, and yes, that includes a very special clothing brand called Lalesso which even the great names like Sienna Miller have worn. Set up by Olivia Kennaway, (one of our own from Diani!) and Alice Heusser, the Lalesso brand was inspired by the intrinsic patterns and vibrant colours of the Kenya’s coastal traditional attire, the kanga. This little story told by Olivia has so much synergy with us – not just because one of our gappers is the star. Lalesso is not just another fashion brand but like Camps International, is one that is based on social responsibilities…Hat tip to Mill!
The Diani weekend beach bar hang out, Forty Thieves, is many things, but a model scouting hot spot, who would have thought? I managed to persuade my good friend Leo to ask Mill Levy, who would later transpire to be a Camp Kenya volunteer, if she was a: A model and b: Be interested in modeling for Lalesso (a clothing brand that she had clearing never heard of). As I watched from afar I realised the situation that my good friend Leo had gotten himself into and that no matter how genuine one might be, a guy asking a hot girl in a bar if she is a model just doesn’t fair lightly! So I stepped in and apparently managed to convince her that we were a legitimate and genuine company and so the ball got rolling…
The rest of the Lalesso shoot crew arrived from South Africa, VC the photographer, Ernstly his assistant and Alice, the other half of Lalesso. With Camp Kenya fully committed and ever helpful assistance, Mill arrived at the final hour, quite literally. Mill is from Melbourne, Australia and has been with Camp Kenya for nearly 2 months. During the dates of the shoot her group was out in their camp in Tsavo, so we had to get her back to Diani, about a 4 hour drive away. A long story short but she missed the first bus coming back from Tsavo and finally arrived back in Diani at midnight. We were to start shooting at 6:30am the next day! So straight to bed for some not so much needed beauty sleep and we were all up at dawn to catch a boat to the sand bar at the reef for the first shoot location. Mill settled in really well and we were all delighted with the first set of pictures.
Back to land and straight in a car off to the next shoot location at The Funzi Keys, an island about an hour south of Diani. Some more fantastic pictures including a great sunset scene on the islands airstrip with the owners little cesna aeroplane as a ‘prop’ in the background. Back to Diani for a much needed good nights sleep and ready for another early start the next day.
Day 2 saw us all head off to Mombasa. The first location was the beautiful old town where reminiscences of old Arabic trading and culture is rich amongst the architecture and life within the streets. All the locals were totally unphased by this bizarre group hauling around big white screens and making a girl walk backwards and forwards hundreds of times. We captured the African cultural essence that lies within the Lalesso brand with the great rustic backgrounds that Mombasa old town boasts. Next was the old Mombasa train station, which despite it’s appearance is still very much in use. Again, both the authorities and by standers were hugely hospitable and let us get on with our work.
Day 3 was beach beach beach and there really is no better location than Diani Beach. Sun, sea, blue sky and sand… not to mention the postcard perfect palm trees that frill out along the vast coastline. Just as the sun settled on the horizon on day 3 we got our final great shot at the Tiwi River Mouth, a magical little destination where the Tiwi river mouth meets the ocean and you get one of the most magical sunsets that I have ever seen anywhere in the world. It was a wrap and the champagne cork was popped!
Mill went back to join her group a couple of days later after a bit of R&R and left us with some fantastic images to start our spring summer 2011 launch campaign. She was an absolute super star and whilst she has done a little bit of modeling previously we hope this job has given her the support and encouragement to pursue a very promising talent that she has… so, you never know what possibilities await for you in Kenya!
(The images shown will be available in Australia at the end of this year and in Europe/USA next summer. Please visit the Lalesso website at www.lalesso.com or shop online at www.lalesso.com/onlinstore or to receive updates of where we are and what we’re up to Subscribe to our newsletter by clicking HERE
In our ongoing series of notes from the field in Camp Kenya, I asked Chris and Sarah (our Marine Conservation Program Coordinators) to put together a little rant about their first week at our Ocean Camp. From the sounds of it, these two seem to have a stress free season… Karibu sana kampi ya baharini!!!!!! [...]
We are always really touched when we get personal letters from people who have spent time with us at our Camps and even more honoured when someone writes something about us who was part of Camps.
“And if you don’t drive me to the ice cream shop, I will…”
“You know doc, I have been having terrible nightmares about gappers attacking our drivers and painting themselves with cement. I don’t know if its all the steak I have been eating at night and you know my slippers are…ooh did you watch yesterday’s news…apparently some chap in New York had a heart attack in his office, kicked the bucket and nobody noticed for five days! I think I might be going slightly mad…I am going slightly mad! Teeeheehee…”
As the summer season comes to an end and our school teams bid us farewell, we like to hold on to the memories and smiles. It’s been an amazing season and so much achieved. So when we sat and listened to young Keiran Hewkin from Godalming read his farewell poem, we could not help but ask Keiran to let his words live on through our blog…I hope you enjoy this as much as we did and thanks Keiran…
A few words from me, it won’t take a mo
This trip has been cool, I hope you all know.
Our hard work is done, all our endevour.
So I wrote this down to help remember!
Let us not forget that Luch is crazy,
And remember Ben T, oh so lazy.
Goodbye Ben Ward, you antisocial chump,
Or quiet little Amy, subdued till drunk.
Sam Tucker with his confectory treats,
Charlie Eglington ever so sweet.
Best wishes to Izzie who braved the diving,
Friendly Jessica forever smiling.
Ellie the hermit now out of her shell
Will Erin grow up? Its so hard to tell.
You never would guess that Jack’s such a lad,
Or Kate for that matter…Oh just a tad.
Tata there to Cat, just so well spoken
Goodbye to Gammy who’s so very broken.
He ho to Imo, good luck with ur dance,
The same goes for Hector? There’s every chance!
Bi bumbling Craig so graceful in fins
Farewell Caroline, just don’t say they’re twins!
Lock up your sisters, run away it’s Mac
Or as Josh would say its windows in fact.
So long Sarah M so full of fun,
So long Sarah P the ditzzier one.
Bibi Fiona with needle and thread,
Gemma no teacher, more a friend instead.
We will all miss Charlie, despite the frowns,
Goodbye to Scampi’s shouting sessions sounds.
Harry and Hattie, like tweedle and dum
But between the two they’re so full of fun.
Best wishes to Katie our local giraffe,
Goodbye to Josie the worlds slowest laugh.
Kwaheri to cat – coffee’s biggest fan
We will all miss Ken the scorpion man.
Lucy’s hair was an intresting trend,
Nice to meet Hattie out thirty fourth friend.
But lets not forget to give Shedi a word,
For he was a friend, for this rest assured.
An end to Kenya, so much has been done
With blood sweat and tears, but hey its been fun.
From Tsavo to forest, mountains and beach
And to others your knowledge please do teach!
It’s no secret that there is a lot of lip service and token support to communities and the environment in the responsible travel industry. The good news though is that the traveller (yes, that’s you!) and the media world are a lot more aware and conscious of what it really means to be ‘responsible’ and people ask all the right questions.
We are certainly always asking ourselves the same questions and redefining, adapting and continuously figuring out what we can do to improve our commitment to sustainable environmental and community projects. Yes, we get it wrong sometimes but we are willing to admit that. But, we also know from a lot of public feedback that we are getting a lot right. We have been fortunate to have a few writers and magazines approach us and our doors are open. I am certainly chuffed to be a part of Camps when I come across a piece written by a person who has a skeptical eye when they first approach us and…well, the article speaks for itself….
Great feature article on Camp Tsavo in Kenya’s largest newspaper, the Daily Nation, written by seasoned travel writer, Rupi Mangat. The article recounts the fascinating history of Rukinga Ranch and retells some of the stories of the first European travellers in the area. Definitly worth a read. Click on the image below to read the full article…
We are certainly not the first to take to playing with flipflops collected from the beach but we are certainly very proud to have jumped on the bandwagon having discovered that’s it not only a lot of fun but actually, if we get this right, then there might even be a source of income for many. A year ago, we gave it a go and out came Papa Shillingi – our life size whaleshark made from over 5000 flipflops collected from Diani’s 
beaches.
