Our Story
Our founder, Karl von Heland, is the grandson of Erik von Heland, a young Swedish officer who, in 1919, became the manager of Karen Farm (Bogani) — the now legendary home of author Karen Blixen and her husband Bror. The farm would later inspire Blixen’s timeless memoir and the Oscar-winning film Out of Africa.
Almost a century later, in 2009, Karl followed in his grandfather’s footsteps in his own way. Together with his close friend Rimoine Ole Kararei and a few Swedish family companies, he founded Entumoto Safari Camp in the beautiful Sekenani Valley.
Rimoine was born in a Maasai village nearby and was among the first from his community to attend university in Nairobi. While studying, he stayed with Karl’s relative, the diplomat Kjell Nordenskiöld, and it was there that the two first met — a meeting that would one day bring their worlds together in the heart of the Mara.
“I had been searching for the right opportunity in East Africa for twenty years. When Rimoine showed me this valley and said he wanted to help create a camp here, I knew my dream was about to come true. This place looks exactly as I imagined it — my grandfather would have loved it.”
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Karl von Heland & Rimoine Ole Kararei
Founders of Entumoto and Mara Siana Conservancy
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Anders Abenius
Partner of Entumoto since 2008
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Susanne Hobohm
Partner of Entumoto since 2016
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Kajsa von Geijer
Partner of Entumoto since 2017
The story behind the Mara Siana Conservancy
In April 2014, Karl and Rimoine set out on a new mission — to create a conservancy around Entumoto. At that time, the surrounding Sekenani Valley was not part of the neighboring Siana Conservancy. The valley was dotted with temporary manyattas (Maasai homesteads), and wildlife had become scarce as the land was increasingly used for settlement and grazing.
Driven by a shared vision to protect the land and restore the natural balance between people and wildlife, Karl and Rimoine began the long process of building trust with local Maasai landowners and the Siana Committee. For two years, they held countless meetings and conversations — sharing their dream of turning the valley into a place where both nature and community could thrive.
Eventually, their efforts paid off. The Sekenani Valley was officially included in the larger Siana Conservancy, marking the birth of the Mara Siana Conservancy — a milestone that redefined this corner of the Mara. You can read more about the Mara Siana Conservancy here.
Today, we are proud to be among the pioneers of conservation in this region and to offer our guests the privilege of witnessing wildlife in our own private, protected area.
