A camera trap grid built to track leopards on the Laikipia Plateau ended up doing something nobody planned. It gave a group of local women a name, a mission, and eventually a building. The Chui Mama Centre at Loisaba Conservancy now runs training and craft production for more than 600 women. Part of its funding traces back to the same conservation work that confirmed Africa’s rarest big cat sighting in over a century.
Touring Insights breaks down what the centre actually does, how the leopard research connects to it, and how to fit a visit into a Laikipia itinerary. Real distances, real fees, real numbers, no vague conservation talk.
The Short Answer: What Is the Chui Mama Centre?
The Chui Mama Centre is a women-led enterprise hub at Loisaba Conservancy in Laikipia County, Kenya. It opened its doors on 27 June 2025 to a crowd of more than 1,500 community members, local leaders, and conservation partners. The centre houses training and production areas, a demonstration farm, a conference hall, and retail space for goods made by local women.
Its name comes from the Chui Mamas, “leopard mothers” in Swahili. That community group grew out of a leopard research program run with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Conservation and livelihoods share one building here, not two separate projects bolted together for a press release.
Where Loisaba Conservancy Sits and How to Get There
Loisaba Conservancy covers roughly 56,000 to 57,000 acres (about 230 km²) on the Laikipia Plateau, north of Mount Kenya and west of Samburu. It sits in Laikipia County, part of a wider patchwork of over 2 million acres of private and community conservancies stretching toward the Rift Valley.
Nairobi lies about 300 km south. Driving takes roughly 6 hours on a mix of tarmac and murram roads. Flying is faster: scheduled and charter flights from Wilson Airport reach Loisaba Airstrip in about an hour, with camps a further 15 minutes by road.
| Route or Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Nairobi (Wilson Airport) to Loisaba Airstrip | approx. 1 hr by air |
| Loisaba Airstrip to camp | approx. 15 min by road |
| Nairobi to Loisaba by road | approx. 300 km, 6 hrs |
| Loisaba Conservancy size | approx. 56,000-57,000 acres (230 km²) |
| Conservancy fee (indicative, non-resident) | approx. $80-150 per person per day |
From Leopard Research to a Community Movement
The Chui Mamas trace back to 2018. Ellie Modesta co-founded the group alongside Ambrose Letoluai, a community coordinator from Koija who works on Loisaba’s leopard program with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Letoluai grew up hearing elders describe black leopards on the plateau, a claim science had not confirmed anywhere in Africa since 1909.
His team set a dense grid of motion-activated cameras near Loisaba and neighboring Mpala Conservancy. The cameras documented 55 individual leopards over the study. Five of them turned out to be melanistic, solid black rather than gold with dark rosettes. It marked the first scientifically confirmed black leopard sighting in Africa in over a hundred years, and the first ever recorded in Kenya.
That research needed local trust to work. Camera placement, sighting reports, and conflict reduction around livestock all depended on relationships with pastoralist families living alongside the cats. The Chui Mamas formed as the community side of that partnership, starting small before growing into the enterprise the centre now houses.
What Happens at the Centre Today
The Chui Mama Centre now supports more than 600 women from communities neighboring Loisaba, including widows, single mothers, and women living with disabilities. Livelihoods running through the centre include beadwork, tailoring, organic farming, soap-making, and reusable sanitary products.
A newer Apiary Project, launched with the Pankaj Foundation and PARC, adds modern beekeeping as a climate-resilient income stream. Bees also support pollination across the conservancy’s rangeland, tying the income project back to habitat health rather than treating it as a side business.
The demonstration farm shows visitors and members alike how to grow food in a semi-arid landscape without depleting shared grazing land. A conference hall hosts governance meetings. Members adopted a formal constitution for the group in 2025, giving the Chui Mamas a legal structure beyond an informal collective.
Why the Funding Model Matters Beyond Loisaba
Conservation fees paid by every Loisaba guest flow into anti-poaching patrols, habitat management, and research, including the camera-trap grid that led to the black leopard confirmation. Some of that same funding chain supports community programs like the Chui Mama Centre, so a guest’s nightly conservancy fee connects to both wildlife protection and local livelihoods.
That link matters because it answers a question conservation-minded travelers often ask: does my visit actually help the people living alongside the wildlife, or only the wildlife itself? At Loisaba, the two budgets are not separate. Community trust built through programs like the Chui Mamas is part of what keeps research access and anti-poaching cooperation working on the ground.
Other Laikipia conservancies run similar combined models, though the specifics vary. Ol Pejeta funds community projects through its rhino sanctuary revenue. Lewa channels tourism income into local schools and clinics. Loisaba’s version centers on this one purpose-built centre, which makes it easier for a visiting traveler to see the connection in a single stop rather than across scattered projects.
Visiting the Chui Mama Centre From a Loisaba Stay
Most visitors reach the centre as an add-on activity from a Loisaba camp rather than a standalone trip. Camps offer community visits by request, usually a half-day detour from a normal game-drive schedule.
| Camp | Style | Distance to Airstrip | Indicative Rate (per person/night, all-inclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp | Classic tented camp, main lodge | approx. 15 min drive | $490-750 |
| Loisaba Star Beds | Open-air rooftop beds over Kiboko Dam | approx. 20 min drive | $600-1,100 |
| Loisaba Conservancy exclusive-use villas | Private house or mobile tented options | varies by property | $700-1,500+ |
Rates shift by season and change year to year, so confirm current figures with the camp or a booking partner before you plan a stay. Ask specifically whether a Chui Mama Centre visit is included in your rate or booked separately, since policies vary by property and season.
Chui Mama Centre vs a Typical Safari Curio Stop
Most Kenya safari itineraries include a quick stop at a roadside curio shop or a staged “cultural village.” The Chui Mama Centre works differently. That difference shows up in where the money and the story actually go.
| Feature | Chui Mama Centre | Typical Roadside Curio Stop |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Women-led, community-owned | Often externally owned, staff employed only |
| Connection to conservation | Grew directly from leopard research funding | Usually none |
| Governance | Formal constitution adopted 2025 | Rarely formalized |
| Income streams | Beadwork, tailoring, farming, soap, beekeeping | Souvenirs, curios, photo fees |
| Visit format | Scheduled add-on from Loisaba camps | Roadside stop, often unscheduled |
That table is not a case against buying a souvenir on the road. It is a reason to ask your camp, before you arrive, whether a structured community visit like this one is on offer. The answer changes what a Laikipia stay actually funds.
Explorer Notes
Ask your guide directly for Ambrose Letoluai’s leopard program by name if you want the fullest version of this story on the ground. Guides who worked the original camera-trap grid can point out where black leopard sightings actually happened, not just repeat the headline.
Bring cash in small denominations for the retail space. Card readers and mobile money can be unreliable this far from Nanyuki, and Chui Mamas products sell out fast on days with larger groups.
Visit early in your Loisaba stay rather than on a rushed last morning. Members run the demonstration farm and training sessions on a working schedule, and an unhurried hour gets you real conversation instead of a rehearsed tour.
What to Read Next
- Planning a longer Laikipia route? Read our Loisaba Conservancy guide for the full destination breakdown.
- Curious about the black leopard story behind the Chui Mamas’ name? See Kenya’s black leopard research.
- Weighing Laikipia against other northern Kenya options? Check our northern Kenya conservancy comparison.
FAQ
What is the Chui Mama Centre at Loisaba Conservancy? It is a women-led enterprise hub that opened on 27 June 2025. It supports more than 600 women from communities near Loisaba through training, a demonstration farm, and retail space for products like beadwork and soap.
Why is it called Chui Mama Centre? “Chui” means leopard and “Mama” means mother in Swahili. The Chui Mamas group formed in 2018 alongside a black leopard research program run with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
What is the black leopard connection to Loisaba? Camera traps near Loisaba and Mpala Conservancy documented 55 leopards, five of them melanistic (black). It was the first scientifically confirmed black leopard sighting in Africa since 1909 and the first ever recorded in Kenya.
How do I get to Loisaba Conservancy from Nairobi? Fly from Wilson Airport to Loisaba Airstrip in about an hour, then drive roughly 15 minutes to camp. Driving the whole way from Nairobi covers about 300 km and takes around 6 hours.
Can I visit the Chui Mama Centre as part of a safari? Yes. Camps at Loisaba, including Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp and Loisaba Star Beds, arrange community visits to the centre on request, usually as a half-day addition to a game-drive schedule.
Ready to build a Laikipia stay around Loisaba and the Chui Mama Centre? Visit our Tour Packages page, or ask a partner operator to confirm current camp rates and community visit availability.
