Photos by Dave Anderson
We visited a Maasai community in northern Tanzania in the rainy season, in April of last spring, when trees were lush with leaves that Heifer camels nibbled on happily throughout the day. Yet at the sandaled feet of the young men who led the animals to graze was a deep sand left in the wake of a terrible, persistent drought that continues to change the lives and parts of the culture of this community forever.
It’s hard to imagine enough grass ever grew here to sustain the large cattle herds the Maasai traditionally raised in this area for centuries. From the mid-1990s to about 2007, the land shriveled and baked in the hot sun, with no relief. Grasses and water sources dried up, as did the Maasai primary income from cattle. They began selling their gaunt animals for as little as $5 each. Those not sold perished.
It is part of the Maasai culture that meat is only eaten on rare occasions: When a baby is born to give the mother strength, to honor a special guest, to help heal the very ill or for ceremonial reasons. They got protein from the milk or from a milk/blood mixture. So many animals were left where they fell to return to the earth.
As the drought stretched on, almost every cow in herds of hundreds died. “When their cows died they went back to square one, to poverty,” said Peter Mwakabwale, then Heifer Tanzania’s country director. A small amount of grains from government assistance is all they had to eat for much of the year.
Their women’s group sought help from Heifer, and the community received 31 Dromedary camels in 2008, which were much more adaptable to the new climate reality in Eastern Africa. They provide not only a sweet, nutritious milk, even in times of drought, but also help with transportation of water and firewood.
It wasn’t necessarily an easy transition, and there are still some hitches. The women, responsible for milking and caring for the animals, are frightened by the large, sometimes unpredictable creatures, prone to fits of bucking, kicking or spitting when they’re stressed out. Other nearby communities accustomed to cow milk are reluctant at first to try or buy camel milk.
However, the camels also brought many welcome changes to the Maasai culture. Because of the size of the animals, the men help out more and accompany women to gather firewood and water. They produce milk even during the dry season, getting enough water and nutrition from trees and bushes well out of the reach of traditional cattle.
To me as a visitor to the culture and the country, the picture is a beautiful one. I never saw the area before the drought, but today the community is thriving with life and celebration. Athletic young men and women in bright blues, reds and purples mingle among the camels, with views of distant mountains set against a clear, blue sky. The children make happy slurping noises and giggle as they tip back their milk mugs for every last drop. As an editor for Heifer’s World Ark magazine, I’m amazed more with every visit by the careful planning and attention to culture, climate and sustainability our organization invests in each project.
Read more about Heifer’s camel projects in Tanzania and stay tuned for an insider’s look in a coming World Ark at how Heifer participants and country staff help choose appropriate animals for each community served. Click here to order a camel or share of a camel to continue to help participants in Eastern Africa adapt to the extended drought.
Fascinating… before embarking on this project, how did you assess the willingness of this Maasai community to accept camels? It sounds like a major transition for them. Were there pilot projects in other villages, or sociological interviews of this community, or demonstration camels, or…
I asked the same question and the answer surprised me, as Heifer always works with communities to decide which animals are appropriate, and strongly considers participants' requests for certain animals. Maria Paulo, a member of the women's camel group in Ketumbeine, explained that the women's group did not ask for camels specifically, they just asked for help from a church elder who led them to Heifer.
She said " We came to accept the idea because according to Maasai culture if you go to ask for help, if someone chooses to help and says this is what I’m giving to you, you can’t say no, according to our culture."
Then Country Director Peter Mwakabwale also said that in this area of Tanzania the Maasai were having a lot of trouble finding water, and that they had to carry water for many miles back to their homes. When they found out the camels could help them carry water as well as provide milk, they were even more interested in the camels. Their cows certainly could never help them with that.
Mwakabwale also said that demand for camels in the area just keeps growing, that Heifer Tanzania has been approached by many more Maasai tribes also asking for camels once they heard about how successful other projects have been.
A common Heifer practice is to take new participants to visit more established projects if possible with the same animals they'll be receiving so they can see how the work is done and observe for themselves how well the communities progress after receiving the animals.
I'd love to go back to see how they're doing. It was a new project when I visited last April (2010) and they were all still getting training on how best to work with the camels.
thanks Donna . . In the early days to acquaint the Masaai in Tanzania with the camels – camel races were popular – I was privileged to see some of the early projects with camels. It was definitely a sustainable decision.
Camel races sound fascinating, Rosalee. Do you have any photos? If so, send to me and I'll post here. I agree, as do the Maasai families I interviewed, that the camels are an excellent, sustainable choice for the area.