08/02/2024
HOW TO EMPOWER MINORITY CULTURES SUCH AS THAT OF THE MAASAI THROUGH SUSTAINABLE TOURISM?
BLOG MASAI MARA – OSEKI MAASAI MARA CAMP
INTRO
It is that time of the month again when you promised you would write a nice educational and inspirational part on the empowerment of minority cultures such as that of the Maasai and all the new things we have achieved so far with our community-based safari camp but you just can’t get it quite right once starting to write your story. What’s up with totally not having much inspiration since the last couple of weeks and suddenly, when it is already the 30th of January it is really time to start off with writing that travel blog and simply get on with it!
So, for me, I like to be bland and open and honest about our recent experiences of running a safari camp in the midst of Africa, location Masai Mara Kenya but not without trying to inspire people to travel more and to find new ways to connect with minority cultures from all over the world. For us specifically, this means the Maasai people. It is Oseki’s goal to bring cultures together from afar to exchange knowledge and expertise by using tourism as a way to connect people. All of this is of course done in a beautiful setting, in the backdrop of the Masai Mara National Park, part of the larger Serengeti-Mara ecosystem which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.
The Masai Mara & Serengeti have both been identified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of both parks being acknowledged for its outstanding universal value and its iconic and very rich and diverse ecosystem. The park is also known for the highest concentration of wildlife in Kenya. So, let’s get started with the question of the month…how to empower minority cultures such as that of the Maasai through sustainable eco-tourism.
EMPOWERING MINORITY CULTURES
Empowering minority cultures is a multifaced endeavor that involves acknowledging their heritage, amplifies voices of a minority culture and is able to create opportunities for self-determination and advancement. There are multiple ways to empower minority cultures but for us, the best way would be to initiate this through community development, art, education and of course cultural exchange and collaboration.
It is here where tourism plays a vital role, as partnerships and relationships between minority cultures and the broader society promotes a mutual understanding and appreciation of diversity in culture.
As Oseki, we have set ourselves apart as a community-based camp and as of recent, the end of 2023 we have set up a new initiative called Maasai child Fund (www.maasaichildfund.org). We ourselves are a relatively new camp in the adjacent Masai Mara Conservancy but we have come quite far already since we started just before the pandemic.
So what’s new?
So our new initiative started in January and is called the Maasai child fund. This initiative has a few pillars which are:
• Economic empowerment for women and youth
• Capacity building
• Social Services
In the past, we have already been able to support children from minority households to go to school. Both boys and girls. We were also able to re-build a girl’s dorm room from a school in Nkineji which was burnt down due to an awful fire. We have currently decided to keep $2 per person per night to be set apart for the Maasai child fund. Aiming to safe this up for a whole year, to see what best to use it for in the end. For us, the most important part is to make things sustainable and to give power to the Maasai community.
As Oseki, we are always in search for new people to work with or new travel programs to set up. As for now, we are in talks about students coming for a week or more to spent time not only going for a breathtaking safari in the Masai Mara, but also to actually experience and participate in cultural activities.
AND WHAT IS NEXT?
The next few months shall be focused on not only updating our own camp, the rain has done quite some damage to some of the roads in the Masai Mara, including ours! So, we desperately want to change that, but also on Capacity building where certain skills and abilities of community members through trainings will be enhanced. It would be great to see if the women can try to change the way they make their beadwork for instance…so that they can create more of a variety in items. The talent is there, but it would be nice to be able to tap in the international market a bit to enhance the products they make but, without losing their Maasai touch to it. It still needs to be able to put into a relation to their culture as this is what makes it truly unique. Luckily, we have 2 groups coming in that have shown interest in our mini beadwork class. It would be great to see how to improve this in the future!
For more info: www.osekimaasaimaracamp.com
www.maasaichildfund.org
