Maasai women switch to entrepreneurship to cope with drought

By Kizito Makoye

ARUSHA, Tanzania (AA) - When Lorato Namelok switched to beekeeping as an alternative source of income, her fortunes began to change.

The 39-year-old herder in the drought-hit village of Sirat on the slopes of Mount Meru in Tanzania’s northern Arusha region no longer struggles to meet the growing needs of her family.

“I am selling honey and get enough money, some of which I use to buy food for my children,” she said.

Dressed in a dazzling Maasai outfit and wearing a beaded necklace, Namelok owes her success to the humble skills she learnt three years ago on how to use available resources to eke out a living when her husband was away from home, grazing cattle in distant areas.

The soft-spoken mother of five is extremely excited about the changes happening in her life thanks to Upendo—a local women’s group in her village striving to lift drought-hit families from the quagmire of poverty.

“My children are happy and they enjoy eating honey, which improves their health,” she said.

As a member of the Maasai, a distinctive semi-nomadic ethnic group, Namelok’s family and their way of life was increasingly threatened by climate change, a global phenomenon characterized by erratic rainfall and recurrent drought spells which is pitting pastoralists against farmers who are vying for dwindling water supplies to survive.

But ever since she joined Upendo, Namelok realized the danger posed by the changing weather patterns across the Maasai Steppe and discovered new tactics and skills to cushion her income and protect her children from hunger.

“We realized that beekeeping was the best investment, since it is profitable and doesn’t rely on water,” said Namelok, who earns up to 50,000 Tanzanian shillings (about US$22) per week.

The group has been engaging in honey farming since 2015 after they attended a government-led seminar to learn multiple skills and techniques related to sustainable community conservation projects.

“I earn enough money from my honey harvests. My family is better off,” she said.

The enterprise has also given Namelok a taste of financial independence and decision-making power in her family in an entrenched patriarchal society.

- Powerful indigenous knowledge

Armed with their indigenous knowledge of managing resources passed down through generations, the Maasai are natural custodians of the land.

But the changing weather patterns in most parts of northern Tanzania characterized by recurrent drought spells are threatening the semi-nomadic lifestyle they have maintained for centuries.

As semi-nomadic herders, Maasai men often leave their homes for months in search of water and pastures. As a result, women, children and the elderly are left behind to fend for themselves.

Maasai women face increasing challenges fetching water. Sometimes they are forced to walk long distances to find the precious resource.

- Water management technique

In the face of the growing crisis, however, Maasai women are increasingly becoming adept at discovering new techniques to lessen the impact of drought and protect their families.

In drought-hit Sirat village, for instance, women’s groups are actively working to promote income-generating activities such as pot making, beekeeping, stove-making and tree planting, which are yielding positive results for the community.

As heavy clouds hung in the sky in the middle of December, the rain has failed to fall in Sirat.

“We haven’t had any rain for the past two years. We just receive a few passing showers,” lamented Marieta Saibong, the leader of Upendo.

Across the village, the rainy season has become erratic, and the pastures are barely sufficient to sustain the livestock -- a source of livelihood to most families.

“Our way of life is threatened. We must do everything we can to rescue this situation and survive,” Saibong said.

“Every woman in the village feels the pinch of drought.”

According to her, the lack of rain has seriously impacted the Maasai families, whose livestock share pastures with wildlife.

In the same drive, the women have teamed up to build concrete water tanks, where they collect rainwater for future use.

- 'Water protectors'

Currently, about 63 tanks and mini reservoirs have been set up to gather runoff water from sloping land to water crops and vegetables.

The Maasai women’s group uses indigenous tree species to fight deforestation and support the adaptive capacity of their communities.

The women, dubbed “water protectors,” identify water sources based on their traditional knowledge of the depth of water, distance between water collection points and presence of trees near water sources.

These water management strategies, the group leader said, help improve the community’s resilience to the effects of climate change.

Their innovative methods have also helped Maasai women increase their productivity.

A growing body of research shows that extreme weather events such as floods and droughts as well as reduced food and water security frequently affect women, who make up 70% of the world’s poor and are actively engaging in agriculture.

Although women are disproportionately affected by climate impacts, they also play a critical role in preventing climate change and helping their community adapt to it.

In a bid to restore vegetation, Maasai women in Sirat are encouraged to plant trees to protect water sources in the village.

As a profitable venture that protects the ecosystem, supports the community and builds gender equality, beekeeping is a perfect solution for women, who now benefit financially from selling honey, said Saibong.

According to her, members of the group are also making environmentally friendly stoves which use less firewood and produce little smoke.

The group has also set a target of planting 1,200 fruit trees, which will not only help with reforestation but also provide incomes and improve the nutrition of the families.