Major Gerald Edwards settled on Sosian Ranch in 1920, when he was granted the land after the First World War. In those days Laikipia was several days drive from Nairobi and communications were virtually non-existent. Cattle ranching in northern Kenya was a seriously adventurous past time.
However, until Major Edwards died in 1977, he cared for every single acre, as well as building up his cattle ranch. Alas, following Major Edwards’ death, the land which he had dedicated his life to dwindled into ruin. Left unattended to, the overgrazing, combined with a severe drought in 1990 left Sosian entirely barren with no livestock or wildlife able to survive there. However, by 1999 a diverse group of friends, headed up by the late Tristan Voorspuy (founder of Offbeat Riding Safaris), came together and bought Sosian with the aim of restoring its ecology and wildlife. Huge investment and careful grazing plans over the following 5 years were put in place to allow the vegetation to grow back. This combined with a few years of good rains, Sosian and its wildlife bounced back.
Today, the beautifully restored ranch house is an intimate and homely safari lodge, and since the restoration of the ranch, the wildlife (including many endangered species such as wild dog, reticulated giraffe and Grevy’s zebra) has increased in great numbers, becoming a premier wildlife destination.
Sosian remains a functioning cattle ranch as well as a luxury safari lodge. There is a wonderful balance between cattle ranching and wildlife conservation that hugely benefits both parties and Sosian is a shining example of how this can be achieved.
Sosian employs over 100 people from the neighbouring communities, to help run the tourism, cattle ranching, anti-poaching and security.
Sosian is now a thriving conservation project and the income generated from the tourism enterprise has directly led Sosian to be able to get involved with community projects such as schools and education, healthcare clinics, family planning and community cattle buying schemes to name a few.
Sosian employs over 100 people from our neighbouring communities to help run the tourism, cattle, conservation, anti-poaching and security. Many have been with Sosian right from the start and below are some of our long term key members of staff:
Sean’s family has lived in Kenya for 5 generations, farming and operating safaris. His great grandfather was one of the first European men to explore the Masai Mara; where he finally met his match, losing to a charging lion.
Sean studied in Kenya, Zimbabwe and the UK before returning home to Kenya to begin a career in agriculture. Since 2006 Sean has been running all aspects of this busy 24,000 acre ranch and conservancy, and has passionately built up Kenya’s largest Boran cattle breeding stud, with 680 breeding cows and a fine selection of stud bulls. Sean is heavily involved with every aspect of running Sosian but is happiest out walking in the bush or fishing with his two young sons.
Charlotte also arrived at Sosian in 2006 and was heavily involved in the development of Sosian’s horse riding safaris before moving over to sales and marketing in 2020.
Saimon is Sean’s right-hand man and has been a loyal and dedicated employee at Sosian since 2004. Starting as a farm driver, Saimon has scaled the ranks and today is our head of security and anti-poaching teams.
Saimon is a great team leader and is passionate about protecting our wildlife. In 2017 Saimon was invited by ‘ForRangers’ to London to meet HRH Duke of Cambridge, to be congratulated for his outstanding contribution as a wildlife ranger on Sosian. This was an exceptionally proud moment for all of us at Sosian and has filled us with even more determination to continue with this critical wildlife conservation work across Laikipia.
Darren & Emma joined us in 2023 with a wealth of experience and knowledge in the tourism and safari world, after 11 years running a luxury safari camp in the Masai Mara and more recently two years at a lodge in northern Kenya. Both are huge foodies having previously been restaurateurs with Darren also coming from a very successful baking family in the UK. Both love to travel but Africa is their home!
David has been at Sosian since 2001. He started as a gardener but quickly scaled the ranks proving himself to be an exceptional member of the Sosian team.
David is integral to every aspect of running the lodge and looking after guests, with his team of cleaners, waiters and gardeners. Having helped with the restoration of the original ranch house he knows where every pipe and every wire is, which can come in handy! David will turn his hand to anything and is perfectly comfortable taking guests out on a game drive, grooming a horse, or cleaning the swimming pool. Fortunately he loves to be busy!
Milka’s attention to detail quickly saw her rise to our head of housekeeping where she runs a team of four ladies who meticulously clean the rooms and lodge everyday.
On top of this they also run our daily laundry service and turn down your beds and mosquito nets every evening. All our housekeeping ladies are also trained massage therapists…something you do not want to miss out on!
Nico has been the head chef at Sosian since 2003. He is a master in the kitchen and loves nothing more than to keep learning new recipes and techniques.
Nico is passionate about using our own homegrown, organic produce from the farm and kitchen garden, and all his culinary delights are made with love. Some of his favorite chefs are Darian Allan (Ballymaloe), Yotam Ottolenghi and Mary Berry. Nico can cater for every guest and producing delicious vegetarian, vegan or gluten free food just adds to his enthusiasm! Nico is a great philosopher and has many wise words and funny anecdotes to share. He is always smiling and nothing is ever too much trouble.
With an Oxford Media & Business distinction under her belt, plus a Leiths Food & Wine Diploma and several ski seasons of hosting, Cassie arrived from the UK, post covid, and never left!
Coming from a rural life in England she is an outdoors person and happiest on a horse. She has become an integral part of our busy team and has huge energy and enthusiasm for everything that happens at Sosian! Whether she is out on a horse or a bike, fly camping, or leading the way jumping off our waterfalls, she is at the forefront of the action. Cassie effortlessly coordinates each day of activities, tailor making each experience to every guest to make sure everyone gets the most out of their stay at Sosian.
Simon joined Sosian in 2018, with extensive experience guiding across Laikipia. Simon has fitted in extremely well with the Sosian family and brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm.
He ensures that our guests don’t go home disappointed and always goes the extra mile when searching for lion, leopard or wild dog. As well being a driver guide, Simon has also completed extensive and regular training as a armed walking guide. Simon loves to encourage guests to get out on their feet and experience the bush on a deeper level.
Megan grew up in South Africa on her father’s cattle farm near the Drakensberg Mountain, and soon became an avid horsewoman. Heading off to Australia to study Equine Science, Megan also worked on many professional competition yards, becoming an accomplished rider.
Combining this with her love for Africa and its wildlife, Megan headed to Kenya in 2016 to work for our sister company, Offbeat Riding Safaris for the next 5 years. Megan moved to Sosian in 2021 and runs our very busy yard of 30 safari horses as well as supporting Darren & Emma in the lodge.
In 2016 Boni arrived at Sosian as an apprentice groom. We quickly realised that he had a wonderful natural calmness with the horses and handled them with such care. Over the years Boni has learnt to be a farrier as well as look after all veterinary aspects for the horses.
Boni has also become a first class rider and guide and has the sharpest of eyes in the bush. He knows every horse and every inch of Sosian and is a fun and knowledgeable horse riding guide.
Major Gerald Edwards settled on Sosian Ranch when he was granted the land after the First World War. In those days Laikipia was several days drive from Nairobi and communications were virtually non-existent. Cattle ranching in northern Kenya was a seriously adventurous past time.
Major Edwards died, following his death the land to which he had dedicated his life dwindled into ruin. Left unattended it was heavily overgrazed.
A severe drought coupled with the overgrazing left Sosian entirely barren with no livestock or wildlife able to survive there.
A diverse group of friends, headed up by the late Tristan Voorspuy (founder of Offbeat Riding Safaris), came together and bought Sosian with the aim of restoring its ecology and wildlife. Huge investment and careful grazing plans over the following 5 years were put in place to allow the vegetation to grow back. This combined with a few years of good rains, Sosian and its wildlife bounced back.
Sean and Charlotte Outram took over the running of the ranch.
Sosian Boran Stud is established and Sosian becomes a leading cattle ranch in Kenya and Africa with 680 breeding cows and 2200 head of cattle today.
Sosian conservancy has exceptional scope for viewing wildlife in its natural habitat, being a haven for over 70 species of mammals, of course including the big five, 30 species of reptiles and over 350 species of birds.
Cattle ranching in Laikipia is a long standing and critically important land use that, when managed carefully, offers an economically and environmentally sustainable revenue to this semi arid, wildlife rich area.
