Africa Climate Change Threatens Life and Health of Maasai Women

Nevertheless, in the face of the crisis, some Maasai people have devised measures to lessen the impact of the droughts. The women of Kajiado, for instance, have taken the lead by constructing cement water tanks for their households. They collect rain water from their iron-sheet roofed houses and store it in the tanks.

The project is being spearheaded by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Regional Land Management Unit of the World Agro-forestry Centre. The organisations are providing equipment and training for the women.

To date, over 200 tanks have been constructed under the initiative. The women are also involved in digging mini reservoirs or ‘earth-pans’ to collect run-off water from sloping land. This in turn is used for irrigation purposes to water their crop and vegetable fields.

The women of Kajiado have also begun a tree-planting project to encourage the Maasai to adopt a more settled communal way of life as arable farmers. It makes it compulsory for every household to plant at least a hundred trees.

“It’s time to determine our own destiny. I am anticipating cooler weather. We are fed up with scorching temperatures and spending entire days searching for water,” says Luise Mwoiko, chair of the Mataanobo Women’s Group.

The women’s initiative cooperates to construct water tanks from one homestead to another. And they are proud of their work, as Mwoiko makes clear. “We never bother our men to climb up the tanks and make the final touches. We do it ourselves,” says Mwoiko as she adds that the women’s husbands assist financially in the projects.

Another member, Jerusha Lasoi, said their projects will ensure that the Maasai will no longer require food aid from outside their community. Pointing to her secure reservoir of water, a milk cow and thriving business in vegetable sales, Lasoi felt confident in their future.

There is however debate as to whether the Maasai should still keep large herds of livestock in the face of scarce pastures and water. Agnes Kiner who leads another women’s group thinks not, saying, “It would be wise for the Maasai community to abandon the system of keeping unmanageable herds of livestock and proposing instead to keep one or two dairy cows and goats.”

Such a move would attract stiff resistance from most traditionalist Maasai tribesman as Kirrinkai attests: “Nature is dictating us. There is no water or pastures. People are getting land title deeds. No one is willing to let grazing take place in his territory due to scarce resources”. These factors are driving the Maasai from their culture, he adds, and Kirrinkai wants to see more rain-water harvesting and more trees planted to help to mitigate the droughts.

Proposals and debates about the best approach to soften the impact of the drought will likely rage on for some time. But for many Maasai people now, the challenge appears to be a question of striking a balance between coping with a changing climate and retaining traditional norms and values.

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[YouTube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHgWFwnck2M"]

 

BBC Television host, author, scientist and historian, Adam Hart-Davis, talks with climate change project manager, Sharon Looremeta, and other Maasai women in East Africa, Kenya on the devastating effects of water shortage. Without rain for 3 years, animals in the region are dying at an ever increasing rate. Women herders and their families are being faced with the only option available to them; to leave their homes in hopes for better conditions elsewhere to survive. This is a video production by UK based international humanitarian assistance and global development charity, Practical Action.
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• USAID – “KENYA: Food Insecurity,” 2009 report
• WEDO – Women’s Environment and Development Organization, “Climate Change – Why Women’s Perspectives Matter,” 2009
• NRDC – National Resources Defense Council, “Safe Water in Peril – Addressing the Effects of Global Warming on Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation,” 2007
• LGD – Law, Social Justice and Global Development, “Water Activists across the African Continent – A View from the Field,” 2008
• WASRAG – Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group, “Water Crisis – Statistics,” 2008
• PracticalAction.org & partners, “Two Degrees, One Chance – The Urgent Need to Curb Global Warming (A Message to World Governments),” Dec 2007

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Ebby Nanzala Wamatsi is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya. She contributes to local magazines including Business Post, African News Science and Spore. She is also a Climate Change Media Partnership fellow at Panos London.

Materials for this feature have been provided by a Women News Network – WNN media partnership with Panos London and made available through the generous donations of Panos London sponsors. Additional informational reports and media have been provided by the WNN editorial team.
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©2009 Women News Network – WNN

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