The Maasai meet the 21st century

The Maasai meet the 21st century

The Maasai meet the 21st century

Chances are, even if you don't know who the Maasai people are, you will at some point have seen an image of them. Statuesque and usually swathed in red cloth and colourful beads, they are one of the quintessential images of Kenya. These people have survived here for thousands of years and at one point could be found all over the Great Rift Valley and the lands from Mount Marsabit to Dodoma.

Nowadays they are limited by expanding cities and private reserves and parks, and many have had to cease in their nomadic practise and set up permanent villages. This, along with other changes has meant that a lot of Maasai villages are unable to function as they once did; roaming the vast plains in search of game and grazing land and instead have had to turn to other methods to keep themselves self sufficient.

But the Maasai are not ones to accept defeat. Instead, in most cases they are embracing change, educating their youngsters, allowing members of the village to take on jobs within local hotels and resorts as waiters, security guards or guides and allowing tourists to experience their villages, involving them in arts and crafts and dances and songs. They have also taken to planting and cultivating grain, whilst also adapting their diet and in some cases, traditions, to fit in with the ever encroaching modern world.

The resorts around the Maasai Mara are also doing their bit. There is now a ticketing system in place for tourists wishing to visit a Maasai village which replaces the cash on arrival scheme which was exploited by guides who would take back money from the Maasai, leaving them with a very small percentage of the entry fee. This ticketing system allows you to pay up front at the hotel and show your ticket when you arrive at the village. All the funds collected by the hotel are then deposited into the village bank account. They have also supplied bio-gas plants to help stop the depletion of local trees and have also funded eye clinics to help treat common eye diseases that affect the Maasai such as cataracts and trachoma.

If you are lucky enough to be able to enjoy Kenya holidays, make sure you take time to experience a Maasai village. The colour, exuberance and a real sense of belonging to the land permeates these pockets of tradition and culture and they are a wonderful breath of fresh air in this non-stop modern age.

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