I think you will find it a surprising — and very special — addition to our conservation and community work.

– Angela Sheldrick

Tsavo isn’t a place one might associate with a full spectrum of colours. Its vibrant red earth takes centre stage — a rich, ruddy hue that makes its red-tinted elephants stand out from their cousins across the country and continent. Seasonally, it shifts between a palette of green and red, rain and dry, bounty and survival.

But look closer, and you will see glorious pops of colour everywhere you look. The lilac-breasted roller reveals a vivid mix of lilac, turquoise, blue, and green with every beat of its wings. The bright orange head of the male agama lizard is wonderfully incongruous with his blue body. Otherworldly iridescence shimmers on the indigo feathers of the superb starling. The metallic jewel beetle sparkles from a leaf like a perfectly round, gilded raindrop.

And at the foot of the Yatta Plateau is a continuation of this brilliance. Tiny petals form a very special palette: the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Bougainvillea Petal Project — a community support initiative that weaves together sustainability, meaningful employment, and a beautiful product that benefits the Tsavo ecosystem.

The Petal Project’s origins stretch back decades, beginning with a cherished figure in the Trust’s history. Lionel Nutter was a remarkable man and a close friend of Daphne’s. The pair shared a deep passion for Tsavo and a wicked sense of humour. ‘Nuts’ was a bit of a legend — a once-in-a-generation raconteur who kept everyone in stitches with his stories, no two of which were ever the same. He spent the last ten years of his life working for the Trust, bringing his wit, wisdom, and meticulous attention to detail to our conservation work.

Nuts had a long history with the Tsavo landscape — most notably as the manager of a now-defunct property called Tsavo Safari Camp for many decades. He later purchased a lovely piece of land on the opposite bank of the Athi River, which he christened Tsavo Farm. While Nuts left most of the property virgin and wild, he cultivated 20 acres to experiment with bougainvillaea. The petals are used to produce botanical confetti — a sustainable alternative to traditional confetti.

After Nuts died in 2015 — leaving us with countless memories and enough laughs to help heal the hole he left in our hearts — we purchased Tsavo Farm from his brother. The land sits on a critically important patch of river, bordering the Peregrine Conservation Area in which our Kaluku Headquarters sits. We know that Nuts would be happy that it remains a protected place, building upon the work he started.

‘Farm’ is a bit of a misnomer — Tsavo Farm is more wild, indigenous land than anything else. Over the years, it has become a branch of our Kaluku Headquarters, located just a few kilometres up the dusty park road. While it is home to a patchwork of projects, from the SWT carpentry workshop to a 38-hive apiary, it is best known as our little hub for sustainable agriculture.

Tsavo Farm’s tree nursery grows a variety of indigenous tree species, yielding over 30,000 seedlings planted each year in areas in need of reforestation. We compost all of our spent branches, hay, and manure from the orphaned elephants to grow organic fruit and vegetables for our staff. Tsavo Farm’s orchard has oranges, limes, mulberries, pomegranate, mangos, passion fruit, banana, dragon fruit, grapefruit, and grapes.

Meanwhile, the bougainvillea fields planted by Nuts simply rambled and grew, as they naturally do. Despite their delicate appearance, bougainvillea are incredibly hardy — perfectly suited to a challenging environment like Tsavo. Non-invasive and drought tolerant, they require little water beyond seasonal rains and thrive in the heat. Most insects and animals don’t find them appetising — even elephants, who generally have a rather indiscriminate appetite, wander through and leave them untouched. (But with that said, they are still buzzing with life, particularly the flitting sunbirds and butterflies that match the vibrancy of the petals.)

As the years passed and the bougainvillea flourished in their own haphazard way, an idea began to percolate. Nurturing the plants is entirely sustainable: They don’t require pesticides, chemicals, or fertilisers; in fact, all they need is sunshine, air, and two rainy seasons to ensure two bountiful blooms each year. Now, in order to truly take off, the Petal Project just needed a little human support.

And who better to provide that support than the people of the Tsavo ecosystem? Since the Trust’s beginnings, we have been deeply engaged with the communities in which we work — especially in the Tsavo Triangle, where Tsavo Farm and Kaluku are located. Sharing a river boundary with the national park, encounters with wildlife are simply part of life in this rural, remote corner of Kenya.

Over the years and decades, we have provided all manner of support to ease coexistence and mitigate human-wildlife conflict: moving crocodiles out of farmers’ reservoirs, using the helicopter to shepherd unruly bulls off farmland and into protected areas, even translocating entire elephant families safely back into the park.

Beyond rapid, reactive support, we also provide strong foundational assistance. Our school feeding programme supplies daily lunches to more than 15,000 young students — many of whom live within this ecosystem. We lead over 80 fully subsidised class field trips each year, opening the next generation’s eyes to their national heritage, and support gifted students through bursaries and scholarships. Over the past year, we have made two large-scale donations to equip the local hospital with state-of-the-art medical equipment and supplies, transforming it into a pride of the county.

And of course, one of our greatest strengths is employing local Kenyans to bring our field conservation projects to life. The pride these men and women take in their work is matched only by the results they deliver. As the resurrected bougainvillaea project began to take shape, we recognised it as an opportunity to provide meaningful employment for the local community surrounding Tsavo Farm.

The bougainvillea project is still in its infancy, but we are thrilled by how it is already coming into its own. We have over 13,000 bougainvillea plants and are nurturing six vibrant colour varieties, each which has been given a special name: Mystic Pink, Apricot Coral, Apricot Whisper, Rose Blush, Vintage Ivory, and Snow Blush. Individually, each provides a generous dazzle — together, they form a warm burst of colour nurtured from the Tsavo soil.

Our petal fields lie in the shadow of the Yatta Plateau, on a small plot adjoining Tsavo Farm. Our free-ranging goats, which we use for milk, roam as they wish by day and create the natural fertiliser the bougainvillea need. Seasonal rains provide the water, while the sun does the rest.

Accompanied by buzzing bees and chirping weaver birds, women and men from the local community tend the plants. When harvest time arrives, the petals are hand-picked and gathered into brilliant baskets of colour. The team then carries them to the drying room, where they are carefully laid out on racks protected by gauze, allowing air to filter through in a highly effective and all-natural drying process.

Once dried, the ‘petals’ — which are actually modified leaves, called bracts — are transferred to the sorting room. These colourful bracts outshine the plant's true flower: a tiny, white bud. These bracts are carefully removed by hand, one at a time, from around the white flower and off the stem. This is the most labour-intensive stage of the petal process, but also its greatest differentiator.

Each petal is then sifted, sorted, and graded. Light and fly-away, bougainvillea petals are perfect for tossing in celebration, creating petal paths, garnishing tables and dancefloors, or using as gift padding — the possibilities are endless, made all the more special by their backstory. Our hope is that they will bring delight to the international market.

And beyond the occasion, the impact of the petals go much further: As with all our fieldwork, the Petal Project is entirely not-for-profit, funding meaningful employment. We are hoping that it will cover its own costs and allow us to grow the initiative — and if it does become profitable, all proceeds will go directly back to conservation and our community projects.

Everyone deserves a little colour in their life — and here in Tsavo, we’re fortunate to have it in beautiful abundance. The Petal Project is our way of sharing that splendour, while also supporting the local community and furthering our conservation work across the ecosystem.

Explore our bougainvillea booklet, showcasing the petal colours we grow here in Tsavo and the process our community members put their heart into. If you would like to learn more, please contact [email protected].