Hosts to a better life

> The Maasai women of Kenya’s herding community are now welcoming guests to their modern eco-manyatta homes

rivers drying up, partly due to deforestation, she added.

But modern manyattas don’t come cheap – including all the additional features, they cost US$5,800 (RM25,871) each.

Kosen Soila admitted the price is high but said the company has come up with a way to ease the financial burden.

“We accept payments in the form of bulls, since it’s what the Maasais have in plenty,” she said. “One mature bull can cost between US$490 (RM2,186) and US$980 (RM4,371).”

Building contractor Francis Njuki said the cost of the modern huts will be lower once there is skilled labour to do the work.

He is currently training women and young people to bake bricks and put up the ecomanyattas.

John Akaale, minister in charge of culture for the Laikipia County government, said Maasai community members needed to be sensitised to the benefits of the new houses, since they are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist people.

But many families are now stationary since there is no longer enough grazing land to move around with animals, and children are required to attend school, he added.

The modern manyattas can act as markers, shielding communities from losing their land even if they do move with their herds in search of pastures, he added.

Johnson Sipitek of the African Conservation Centre, an NGO that is collaborating with EcoManyatta Afrika on the Twala project, said the green buildings would prove a cheaper option in the long run for pastoralists, as they can provide water for their animals.

Kosen Soila said the tourism business of the Twala women’s group was bringing more money into the community – especially to the benefit of women, who are often married early and mostly do not own land – without altering the tribal culture.

Local women are making profits, which they use mainly to cover household spending, she said, adding that this can also offer girls a different perspective on life as with a higher income, their mothers can pay their school.

“It gives them hope for a better future,” she said. – Reuters

(left) Kenyan tribal women are able to earn an income with the rise of modern manyattas (below, left) which offer visitors chances to experience the Maasai tribal culture firsthand.