GENDER IMPLICATIONS OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT OF MAASAI MARA, KENYA Dr. S. M. Mukhovi , Dr. A. Odingo and Prof. E. M. Irandu Department of Geography and Environmental Studies University of Nairobi

Outline of the presentation Understanding of gender issues among the Maasai community living in Narok County Community participation, tourism and development Suggestions for future research

The Maasai are some of the most famous tribes in the world Maasai people have contributed immensely to protection of wildlife in Kenya and Tanzania- due to culture and traditional pastoralism The Success and sustainability of tourism (wildlife based tourism and cultural tourism) in Narok County is incomplete without active participation of the Maasai community

Drivers of change of Maasai Culture Gender relations among the Maasai have been changing Affected by social changes such as intermarriage with other tribes Political processes such as transformation of nomadic pastoralism into semi-sedentary market oriented livestock enterprises Changes in land tenure- from communal to freehold tenure exposure to formal education Sedentarization of Maasai lifestyles

Gender issues among the Maasai community The relationship between men and women is influenced by age, kinship, clan and age-set affiliations Men, women, boys and girls have distinct roles, rights and responsibilities

Gender Roles in Pre-colonial period adult women cared for calves, small livestock and sick animals milked cattle and controlled the distribution of milk to household members and visitors had rights over trade of any surplus milk processed animal skins, and made clothing or sleeping skins from the hides Women were responsible for trading skins

A married woman was given some livestock to manage for household benefit for milk and hides and inheritance by her sons Responsibilities over livestock depended on seniority of the wives Women build houses (manyattas) Involved in ceremonies related to birth and fertility blessings Women involve young girls in their activities Women involved in weaving and making beads Women had substantial autonomy because their husbands often migrated

Men’s roles, rights and responsibilities Adult men and young boys cared for large livestock Adult men own livestock-right to sell, slaughter and give away as gifts Men have exclusive rights over land make decisions on use of land and its allocation Together with young adults (Morans) they provide community security Men’s roles were mainly productive as well as social roles outside the home Older men become elders and advice community and forge relations outside community Discussion on formation of conservancy - women are not allowed in such forums yet the decisions affect their access to important resources such as water and firewood

Women’s roles are now confined in the reproductive sphere; child care; collecting firewood and water, food preparation etc women rights over livestock products has become limited due to commercialization women cannot be members of group ranches and conservancies because they do not own land Women not involved in decision making about land use-formation of ecotourism enterprises

What has changed? Women autonomy over milk and hides reduced due to commercialization of the products Bead making become more commercialized has potential to improve women income Commoditization of land has denied women access to key resources important for household provisioning Women have adopted alternative livelihood strategies such as charcoal burning, small scale farming What can be done? Empower women in activities, roles and responsibilities that are accepted culturally Change women mindset about participation through awareness creation Involve men in women empowerment Mainstream gender in development activities Promote girl education

Community participation, tourism and development What is a community? A community is a group of people often living in the same geographic area, who identify themselves as belonging to the same group-may be related by blood, share same religion, culture, political affiliation, class ,ethnicity etc etc Participation must start by understanding who the community is Communities are heterogeneous and complex-rich and poor, landless and landlords ,immigrants and old residents What is participation? giving people more opportunities to participate effectively in development activities Empowering people to mobilize their own capacities, manage the resources, make decisions and control the activities that affect their lives (Africa charter for popular participation in development ,1990)

Promoting community based natural resources management Participation is ; “empowerment of the people to effectively involve themselves in creating the structures and in designing policies and programmes that serve the interests of all as well as to effectively contribute to the development process and share equitably in its benefits”. (Africa charter for popular participation in development ,1990) Active engagement of all gender in tourism enterprises and development activities Promoting community based natural resources management Active community Participation in all of phases of development programmes Each gender to have specific responsibilities Needs assessment to know the needs of men and women Equitable sharing of benefits from development activities

Suggestions for Future research Mapping resources to establish the beneficiaries as well as those in control of resources Reducing gender gap in community participation through awareness creation Identifying the most gender-responsive aspects of community development and upscaling Use gender analysis tools to analyse access to resources and benefits associated with tourism and other enterprises Economic empowerment of both men and women Building resilience of vulnerable groups Mainstreaming gender in wildlife conservation and management Best practices in gender mainstreaming in climate change adaptation

Sustainable development has three pillars; economic sustainability Conclusion Community participation is a democratic right and a means of attaining sustainable development and poverty alleviation Sustainable development has three pillars; economic sustainability social sustainability ecological sustainability Gender issues should be integrated in all the three pillars of SD and not only in the social pillar

Thank you for listening