Just outside the Masai Mara National Reserve is a traditional Masai community called Mara Rianda. There is a traditional Masai homestead or Manyatta which consists of 48 traditional houses surrounding a cattle enclosure. We encourage clients to visit this manyatta if they are interested in Masai culture and would like to experience a way of life unchanged for centuries. Visitors are always struck by the grace and beauty of the Masai people, and the colourful lifestyle they lead. . There is also a bustling curio market where guests can buy traditional Masai beadwork.
We are very proud of the relationship we have nurtured with our Masai community neighbours.
In October 2006, to assist these communities to conserve their local woodland habitat and help provide a reliable source of fuel for the community, Governors’ Camp built the first biogas project at one Manyatta. This provides the residents of the Manyatta with methane gas to cook on. The gas is generated from the cow dung which accumulates in the centre of the Manyatta as the Masai keep their cattle here at night for security. The Biogas plant has helped remove vast quantities of dung from the centre of the manyatta, thus reducing the number of flies, and fly-born diseases and it has given the community a fuel to cook on. Fuel is an important conservation issue for the Masai Mara as previously the women would go out everyday and cut wood to cook on, now they no longer need to do this the acacia woodland surrounding the Manyatta is begging to flourish and return to its natural state. This has also freed up time that could be used in a more economically productive way for the women.
In order to visit the Manyatta guests must pay for an entrance ticket, which is obtainable from camp reception. This ticketing system was initiated by Tribal Voices project to ensure that as much revenue as possible goes to the manyatta and ensures a secure and transparent revenue stream for the community. This money is extremely important to the community and they have used it to build a nursery school for 120 children aged between 3 – 5 years. They have built two classrooms, accommodation for 3 teachers and a toilet facility. They have also paid for desks for the school. The money from the ticket entry also helps the community members to buy food, pay for secondary school for their children, and pay for cows the mainstay of the Masai economy. During times of drought when Masai cattle suffer the money earnt from ticket sales helps the community enormously to stay on their feet. Overall this revenue supports 98 different families comprising of 300 individuals.
