Cultural exchange sees Maasai community swap plains of Kenya for banks of River Alyn

Members of a Maasai community swapped the plains of Kenya for the banks of the River Alyn in Rossett when they visited the UK’s largest shooting and conservation organisation as part of a cultural exchange.

The Maasai spent time meeting staff at BASC’s  (The British Association for Shooting and Conservation) head office and got to see conservation in action by joining in with building duck nest tubes, which will be put up around BASC’s historic Mill building as part of efforts to encourage biodiversity.

Also in attendance were students from Coleg Cambria in Wrexham who came along to cook a range of game canapes for the Maasai to try.

The visit came about after BASC answered a call for help issued by Jason Ingamells, trip organiser and director of the Woodland Ways Bushcraft Foundation.

Mr Ingamells had asked for help to transport the group around the UK and BASC sponsored a minibus for the duration of the two-week trip.

Mr Ingamells said the aim of the trip was to raise funds for the development of a school in Kenya and to further develop and nurture “a cultural exchange of help, assistance, ideas and raising awareness of what it is to be a Maasai and what it is to work in partnership with people who are trying to make a small difference in their own part of the world”.

Mr Ingamells explained that his organisation had been working with the group for about 10 years.

He said: “We have been helping a community to help themselves by providing financial input and logistical help in order for them to undertake projects that would be much harder to achieve without that assistance.

“It’s a group of friends we have been working with for years. They lead on projects, we just provide assistance to make them happen.”

Garry Doolan from BASC’s communications team said: “When we saw a post on social media we knew we had to help.

“The visit gave us a fantastic opportunity to get together to swap knowledge and ideas and enjoy the company of likeminded conservationists.”

Later in the day, the Maasai group visited a school on the Wirral and BASC staff accompanied them to help build birdboxes which will be put up by members of the school’s eco and conservation clubs.