From the Forest to the Front Door

Sirikoi Lodge sits at the heart of the Laikipia Plateau, where the land is dry but full of life. Colourful birds, elephants moving slowly through the morning and the sounds of the bush at night. A place like this demands care. Everything placed here needs to belong here.

In 2023, the Sirikoi team came to us. They wanted to expand staff accommodation and they wanted it to feel like the spirit of the lodge itself — strong, warm timber that respected the landscape around it.

The First Challenge

Laikipia is not Nairobi. The roads are rough and turn into rivers when it rains. We transported materials from Naivasha, planning night drives to reach the site before sunrise. Our crew camped on site for two weeks straight.

But that is what we value about this kind of work. You learn that timber, like people, becomes stronger when it goes through difficult conditions.

Design and Character

Sirikoi Lodge has its own visual language. Natural timber tones, simple metal details, wide windows that invite the savanna breeze in. We respected that language in every structure we built.

Four staff quarters were arranged in a gentle row, each with a small covered veranda at the front — a place to sit in the evening after a long day and look up at the stars without anything in the way.

"Our staff were so pleased. They said the new quarters made them feel like guests themselves." — Sirikoi Lodge Manager

What We Took Away

Building with timber in remote locations is not just about craft skills. It demands patience, creativity and genuine respect for the environment. We used properly treated timber to resist termites and the heavy Laikipia rains.

Those quarters stand firm today, sitting comfortably within the Sirikoi landscape with a natural beauty that cannot be manufactured anywhere else.

If you have a project in a setting like this, we would love to hear from you.