birth_date: 1943-06-01 00:00:00
avg_rating: 3.92
name: Kuki Gallmann
about: Kuki Gallmann is an Italian-born (born Maria Boccazzi) Kenyan national, best-selling author, poet, environmental activist, and conservationist.Fascinated by Africa, Gallmann moved to Kenya in 1972 with her husband Paolo and son Emanuele, and acquired Ol ari Nyiro, a 98,000 acre estate in Western Laikipia, in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. At the time the estate was still a cattle ranch, which she would later transform into a conservation park. Both her husband and son eventually died in tragic accidents within a few years.Kuki decided to stay on in Kenya and to make a difference. She chose to work toward ecological conservation in the early '80s, becoming a Kenyan citizen. As a living memorial to Paolo and Emanuele, she established The Gallmann Kuki Gallmann is an Italian-born (born Maria Boccazzi) Kenyan national, best-selling author, poet, environmental activist, and conservationist.Fascinated by Africa, Gallmann moved to Kenya in 1972 with her husband Paolo and son Emanuele, and acquired Ol ari Nyiro, a 98,000 acre estate in Western Laikipia, in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. At the time the estate was still a cattle ranch, which she would later transform into a conservation park. Both her husband and son eventually died in tragic accidents within a few years.Kuki decided to stay on in Kenya and to make a difference. She chose to work toward ecological conservation in the early '80s, becoming a Kenyan citizen. As a living memorial to Paolo and Emanuele, she established The Gallmann Memorial Foundation (GMF), which promotes coexistence of people and Nature in Africa and is active in education, biodiversity research, habitat protection, reforestation, community service, peace and reconciliation, poverty alleviation and public health. GMF promotes environmental education of Kenyan students. She dedicated Ol ari Nyiro to this ideal, converting it into the Laikipia Nature Conservancy.Gallmann published five books, all global best-sellers. The first, her autobiography I Dreamed Of Africa, became a feature film. ...more