Photo Essay : Ancient People Learning New Way of Life in Kenya

For hundreds of years, the Masai people ruled their East African domain as feared warriors and resourceful herdsmen.

But today, the threat to their survival can’t be repelled by raiding other tribes, moving their cattle to unspoiled ranges or finding abundant food in the wild. Now, the threat is the encroachment of modern civilization.

The Masais’ ancient territories have been partitioned into park land by the Kenyan government or parceled out to private owners. And the region in which they have settled can no longer sustain their cattle herds or yield wild fruits and vegetables in abundance.

So, the 7,000 Masai who live in Elangata Wuas--a dusty, eroded landscape 75 miles south of Nairobi, in the hills adjacent to Kenya’s Great Rift Valley--are learning new ways. Since December, 1991, the Kenya Wildlife Service and the National Museums of Kenya have been teaching them to farm and to keep livestock, seeking to restore a balance between the Masai and their environment.

One of the experiments under way is cooperative ostrich farming. The birds’ skins can be exported and used for leather, the meat is considered low in cholesterol and the bones can be made into bone meal. In fact, about 89% of the animal can be sold for a total value of about $350 each.

Another project involves the eland, a deer-like animal that provides milk, meat and skins. The eland needs less water and is less damaging to the environment than cattle and more resistant to disease. As herds of eland are phased in, cattle will be phased out.

Other agricultural projects, educational programs and health centers are also planned for Elangata Wuas over the next decade.

The project’s directors hope that as the Masai learn to master the changes, they will again master their lands.