Maasai are the Rightful Stewards of Our Land
Olosho le Maa, the Maasai community, cannot exist apart from Maasailand. Our destiny, and our imperative, is to coexist with dangerous wildlife, to share forests and water and pasture with other communities under conditions of scarcity, and to live in ways that sustain and regenerate the land.
We seek the return of occupied land to implement the land management strategies drawn from our cultural knowledge that will rebuild the health of ecosystems. As occupied land is returned to Olosho le Maa, we can employ limited agriculture where appropriate, and a redesign of the landscape around schools and water sources, all with the awareness of where wildlife lives and migrates. The future of the wildlife rich areas of East Africa is dependent on Maasai people applying our strategies of coexistence to changing conditions. That is our vision.
Land justice is also for the survival of Maasai people. We have been forced to live in anemic poverty for a century as our lands create wealth for others.
Dopoi Center neighbors, Ndoinyo Oloip
To reclaim land, MERC has led an effort for over 30 years challenging illegal occupation in the Kenyan High Court, most recently through a lawsuit for Mau Narok.
Prescott College Mara Field Guide Graduation Ceremony, 2018