When you mention the word "Moran," you picture a lanky young man clad in a red shuka and standing on one leg in that pose that is unique to Maasais. You will also picture some shrub covered, dry lawndscape in the background with a swirl of dust kicked up by the hundreds of cattle he is herding.

You will never picture a well-groomed hotel manager or chef of an exclusive high-class hotel frequented by royalty, or head of security complete with sophisticated fire power and electronic gadgets, or a Tour Guide who speaks fluent English and is at ease driving a Four-wheel vehicle.

Yet this is the exact scenario one will find in the II-Ngwesi area of Mukogodo, Laikipia District today, where the local Maasai community has over the last several years perfected the art of successfully running an exclusive eco-lodge that has so far catered for several foreign, high class dignitaries, who include the future King of England, Prince Andrew and many ambassadors and High Commissioners.

II-Ngwesi Lodge is the first community-owned and managed tourism destination in Kenya with the sole intention of supporting the community and its attendant ecosystem. Its primary objective is to generate income through tourism while raising awareness of the environment to those who visit it.

The whole II-Ngwesi Lodge is managed, staffed, and run by the locals who have received extensive training in their different fields both locally and abroad, to enable them adopt these strange new jobs, some of which were previously thought of as exclusively for women.

"We have come a long way," muses 31-year-old Jonathan Kipkorir ole Nteere, the lodge manager-cum-tour guide-cum-driver of the 12-bed lodge in the vast area covering 16,500 acres of community owned land which borders the law Downs Wildlife Conservancy near Isiolo District.

According to him, the eco-lodge idea first came into being in the early 1980s when the owner of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Ian Craig, approached the neighbouring Maasai elders with the aim of finding a lasting solution to the perennial problem of human-wildlife conflict posed by the wild animals on the local community.

He impressed upon them the need to stop farming and change their pastoral lifestyle which was wholly dependent on the semi-arid land and instead turn to wildlife conservation as a more lucrative alternative to their economic problems.

He showed them the great economic gains he had personally made on his 45,000 acres of land and proudly told of the long list of visitors and clients to his lodge who came to view wild game in serene surroundings away from the usual hectic goings-ons found in big hotels. It is here that the now famous Safaricom Marathon, an annual event, is held, attracting several local and foreign dignitaries.