The ARC
The Amboseli Resource Centre (the ARC) is a lasting home for conservation, Maasai knowledge, education and research across the ecosystem.
The Amboseli Resource Centre (ARC) at Lemong’o is taking shape through a significant commitment by the County Government of Kajiado in collaboration with the local Maa community. The County has dedicated the site as a centre for conservation and co-existence across the entire ecosystem. The Centre gives this wider vision a physical home: a place where communities, government, researchers, and conservation partners can learn, share knowledge, and work together for Amboseli’s future.
Situated on a prime 60+ acre location directly adjacent to Amboseli National Park, the ARC Lemong’o site already features a fully constructed museum, and is becoming a welcoming place for visitors and a resource for local schools, researchers and communities.
The ARC allows catalyst capital investments to go directly into interior museum curation, interactive exhibits, and immediate operational activation. The county, in partnership with the African Conservation Centre (ACC) and the National Museums of Kenya will develop the exhibits for sharing the cultural and natural heritage of Amboseli.
The County Government of Kajiado owns and has dedicated more than 60 acres at Lemong’o to the ARC, providing a lasting foundation for the Centre.
The County has established the Amboseli Ecosystem Conservation Authority (AECA), a semi-autonomous body tasked with overseeing conservation across the Amboseli ecosystem.
Community group ranches are being designated as community conservancies and grazing zones under the Amboseli Ecosystem Management Plan (AEMP),
African Conservation Centre US (ACC-US), a U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity, receives and administers funds for the project and grants them to the African Conservation Centre (ACC) in Kenya. ARC activities are overseen through a collaborative board.
60+ acres secured at the strategic Lemong’o site directly adjacent to Amboseli National Park owned and dedicated to the ARC by the Kajiado County Government.
Community group ranches legally designated as community conservancies and grazing zones under the Amboseli Ecosystem Management Plan (AEMP),
Governed by the Amboseli Ecosystem Conservation Authority (AECA)—a semi-autonomous body designed to insulate management from political interference.
Funds received and administered by African Conservation Centre US (ACC-US), a U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity, and granted directly to African Conservation Centre (ACC) in Kenya, and will be governed under a collaborative board for the ARC.
To address interconnected environmental, social, and economic challenges, the ARC unites four specialized subcentres on its sustainable campus at Lemong’o:
Serves as the primary orientation portal for travelers entering the Amboseli ecosystem.
Impact: Captures existing safari traffic through interactive biodiversity exhibits, guided ecosystem tours, and curated cultural and heritage museum and educational displays.
The intellectual heart of the ecosystem, housing laboratories, data archives, and collaborative workspaces open to all researchers in the ecosystem.
Impact: Institutionalizes 60+ years of longitudinal ecological research established by Dr. David Western in the Amboseli Conservation Program, elephant research by the Amboseli Elephant Trust led by Dr. Cynthia Moss, and research from many other research and conservation NGOs, and will host long-term and short-term researchers.
An active community learning hub offering conservation education activities for children, wildlife documentaries, as well as workshops, seminars, and climate-resilience training.
Impact: Trains local youth, livestock herders, and community rangers in sustainable resource management, rotational grazing, and human-wildlife conflict mitigation.
Housed in the recently renovated museum building at Lemong’o, developed in partnership with Kajiado County and the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) to safeguard biocultural heritage and revitalize intergenerational knowledge systems.
Impact: Redesigns cultural tourism by replacing exploitative performances with authentic engagement, story-telling, art for conservation, and empowering 500+ local Maasai women through beadwork jewelry, fine art, grass seedbanks for restoration, and commercial beekeeping.