String Theory

Have you ever noticed how people try to hold on to extraordinary experiences?  A selfie posted on social media. Buying and wearing merch to support your team or your favourite, or pocketing a beer mat from Oktoberfest.  Sometimes the desire to make a connection can be more oblique, like wearing a cockerel hat at a rugby match — ‘Allez les Bleus' — getting a Taylor Swift tattoo, or perhaps a crazy haircut to back your favourite F1 team? 

But what if the association came from something as simple as a piece of string?   

Organisations spend fortunes trying to forge connections with people, dreaming up clever ways to stay top of mind. But sometimes, the most meaningful associations emerge subtly in a story, when people take it upon themselves to create and form their own connection with a brand without any overt influence. 

At Angama, there’s something almost unique that guests have adopted. Not by clever design or brand strategy, but quietly adopted by guests in their own way as a by-product of the delicious picnics served when out on a safari drive.

Each food package is beautifully wrapped and held together by a humble piece of string. But it’s no ordinary piece of string. Its colours reflect the lodge location: red, white, and blue for the Mara and black and white for Amboseli.  

And what do many guests do after they unwrap their food? They tie the coloured string around their wrists, Maasai-bead-like, and that is where it remains like a badge of association for the rest of their stay. For some, it remains longer.  Long after their safari ends, the string remains.  

When they get home, they decide whether to cut it off and throw it away. But when that time comes, and the scissors are poised to do the deed, all those memories of Angama and their experiences come flooding back, and for many, the scissors are put away.

As the Guides like to say, try not to cut it off once you’ve tied the string. When it breaks naturally, it’s a sign — time to start planning your next trip to Africa (hopefully, back to Angama). 

So the picnic string stays on, and it becomes part of one’s life, to the extent that you may then begin to notice others wearing the same, who have been to Angama too. 

It is not as blatant as wearing a football shirt, but for those who know, it speaks volumes. 

It is amazing how something as throwaway as a piece of string can evoke such a deep connection, a sense of place and connection to a special place in this world. It is a reminder that you are part of something extraordinary.  

So don't toss the string next time you unwrap your Angama picnic.  Think again and either tie it around your wrist or ankle, a simple way to remember your own Angama adventure.   

Those who know, know, and those who don’t will need to find out… 

That’s my string theory.