The Maasai – E.Y.E. C

CHANGING THE MAASAI TRADITION TO SUIT THE NEW CLIMATE OF ISINYA LOCATION

Change of climate conditions in Kajiado County in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, local community at Isinya Location has been forced to abandon the usual Maasai pastoralist lifestyle of keeping herds of cattle and goats in search for alternative adaptable livelihoods.

The County’s vast fields earlier used for grazing have since been converted into human settlements and flower farm plantations.

The much-touted Konza Techno City that partly sits on Kajiado land, the evolution of Kitengela Township in the County, and shrinking land for settlement in Nairobi (which say “Kajiado is the bedroom of Nairobi”) has attracted investors who are all eyeing Kajiado’s traditional grazing land for development. This has had a direct impact on residents whose lifelines are based on livestock keeping.

With the changing climatic conditions that in many cases are characterized by prolonged droughts, the residents have no choice but to seek alternative lifestyles.

The Maasai of Isinya farmers have decided to reduce their cattle and diversify into organic crop farming with the help of Dr. Anita’s “Chakula kwa Sisi – food for us” Project.

Rev. Joshua Kikayaya, a local pastor to the community and Coordinator of the Project says, “I vividly remember the year 2005 where many farmers lost herds of 1,000 cattle and 3,000 goats to drought and followed by another greater drought of the year 2014 to 2023 which also killed almost everything, both livestock and vegetation.”

That is one of the major reasons Isinya Maasai farmers had to reduce their animal stocks from thousands to slightly above 10. They have had to diversify to crop farming which had never been part of the Maasai community.

“Today, Maasai man eats vegetables, maize, beans, and all kinds of fruits. It was not part of our culture to till the land for other sources of foodstuff, sell them for money to earn a living and also pay school fees for our children.”

Climate is changing very fast and as a result, life is changing too. The only way to survive is by changing our lifestyles, our diets, and the way we look at things. That is exactly what Maasai at Isinya are doing to adapt to climate change by applying Agricultural Techniques as advised by Dr. Anita Handa.

Despite the baking heat from the sun in Kajiado, Maasai of Isinya farmers plant different types of trees that are important for repairing the damage caused by climate change. For example, Moringa trees, Avocado trees, Orange trees, Banana trees, Guava trees, and other indigenous trees. This is a lesson learned from climate change expert Dr. Anita Handa. According to experts, trees have the ability to sequester Carbon Dioxide.

Thirty (30) pastoralists who have converted into conventional farmers say they have learned many lessons from Dr. Anita Handa. Agricultural extension, e.g. practicing irrigated horticulture, composting, soil covering, mixed cropping, and planting of fruit trees in between crops - and above all, water harvesting.

30 Farmers have turned a quarter, a half, or even an acre of land into an income generating piece where he/she grow onions, kales, spinach, cabbages among other vegetables using drip irrigation and organic techniques. With the tough climatic conditions and the shrinking grazing land, the Maasai are deemed to suffer if they cannot diversify, a practice that has never been a part of the traditional Maasai community.

Maasai Climate Resilience Centre

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNHAv5oIMNs&t=121s

“Chakula kwa Sisi – Food for us” Project directed by Dr. Anita Handa was meant to build the capacities of smallholder farmers and enable them to fight climate change and food insecurity in the community.

Below is the list of 30 pastoralist farmers who are beneficiaries of Dr. Anita Handa’s project. (Irrigated Area).

No	Name	Acres	Crops Growing	Sales Per Month
1.	Rev. Joshua Kikayaya	1	Vegetables, Fruit Trees, Onions, Bananas	2,000
2.	Scrivin Kikayaya	½	Kales, Spinach, Onions, Fruit Trees	1,200
3.	James Turere	½	Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Bananas, Fruit Trees	1,000
4.	Jonathan Lekuria	½	Maize, Beans, Kales, Fruit Trees	1,000
5.	Lenox Lakati	½	Bananas, Fruit Trees, Kales, Spinach	1,000
6.	Joseph Tuari	1	Beans, Maize, Vegetables, Fruit Trees	1,500
7.	Jackson Sironka	1	Maize, Beans, Fruit Trees, Vegetables	2,000
8.	Levy Simintei	½	Maize, Beans Cowpeas, Fruits, Vegetables	1,500
9.	Doris Suai	½	Fruit Trees, Spinach, Kales, Maize, Beans	1,200
10.	David Kiparki	½	Fruits, Beans, Maize, Onions	1,000
11.	Josphine Kiparki	½	Maize, Beans, Fruit Trees	1,000
12.	Jackson Salum	½	Beans, Maize, Fruit Trees, Cowpeas	1,500
13.	Jacyline Kiparki	½	Beans, Maize, Fruit Trees, Vegetables	1,000
14.	Emmanuel Moi	1	Bananas, Pawpaw, Fruit Trees, Vegetables	2,000
15.	Charity Maina	½	Fruit Trees, Bananas, Vegetables, Maize	1,500
16.	Dickson Maina	½	Fruits, Sweet Potatoes, Bananas, Vegetable	1,500
17.	Jeremiah Kiparki	½	Fruit Trees, Maize, Beans, Cowpeas	1,200
18.	Edward Silei	1	Beans, Maize, Fruits, English Potatoes	2,000
19.	Solomon Napiya	½	Butternuts, Maize, Beans, Cowpeas	2,500
20.	Moses Seet	½	Vegetables, Maize, Beans, Fruits, Beans, Onions	2,000
21.	Ken Meely	½	Maize, Beans, Fruit Trees	1,000
22.	Benjamin Ntooki	½	Maize, Beans, Bananas, Vegetables	1,000
23.	Joshua Mwanda	½	Vegetables, Fruits, Bananas, Maize, Beans	1,500
24.	James Ntele	1	Vegetables, Fruit Trees, Maize, Beans	2,000
25.	Solomon Mapena	1	Vegetables. Beans, Maize, Fruits	2,000
26.	Kasae Mapena	1	Onions, Bananas, Fruits, Maize, Beans	2,000
27.	Stephen Lila	½	Beans, Maize, Fruits	1,000
28	Samuel Lemein	½	Beans, Maize, Vegetables, Potatoes	1,000
29.	Rebecca Sironka	2	Beans, Maize, Fruit Trees, Vegetables	10,000
30.	Lemaron Sironka	3	Beans, Maize, Fruit, Vegetables, French Beans	20,000

During the normal season, the above-named farmers grow beans, green grams, cowpeas, maize, fruits (pawpaw, mangoes, oranges) and other nonfruit trees such as Moringa, at one to three acres of land. Most of the farmers are expecting a good harvest by the end of February 2024.

Water harvesting techniques, soil moisture conservation, keeping of small animals that consume less and drink less water, planting of crops that mature fast enough to escape the drought period and practicing organic farming are lessons learned from Dr. Anita Handa.

May the Lord bless you, long life (Chakula kwa Sisi)!