Indigenous Based Tourism & Conservation
Reimagining Tourism & Conservation In Maasailand
Building A New Path Forward
As MERC founder Meitamei Olol Dapash says, “In the balance our ancestors found with the natural environment, people shared the land with elephants, giraffes, rhinoceros, and other majestic wildlife. We see ourselves as custodians of the land, which to us is a sacred living entity. The land contains our history; it is the keeper of our memories and culture, and protector of our forefathers’ bones. The Maasai believe that the land is entrusted to the living for safekeeping, to be passed on to future generations."
The past three decades we've focused on...
Community-based Ecotourism Program
MERC developed a community-based ecotourism program in the vicinity of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve with two local tour companies that operate bush walks and safari camps among Maasai communities. The program exists to demonstrate the potential to generate direct income from tourism through Maasai-controlled centers selling beadwork and photographic rights, and creating appropriate cross-cultural encounters.
Ethical Conduct of Tourism Industry Project
MERC has partnered with tourism industry representatives, Kenyan government, International NGOs, and Maasai communities to build and implement ethical community based ecotourism that supports equitable distribution of resources generated by tourism and conservation of land and wildlife.
Beading Cooperatives
MERC has established several beading cooperatives to collectivize the ability of Maasai women to achieve economic empowerment. MERC currently works with the Olosho Beading Cooperative.
Maasai Field Guide Training Program
In the fall of 2007, Prescott College students taught a six month Field Guide training program to 10 Maasai students. The program was revised in 2016 and Prescott College now teaches a yearly training program at the Dopoi Center.
In 2008, the Dopoi Center was established on ten acres near Talek, on the edge of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, as a home for community activism and field studies. Today the Center houses the collaboration between MERC and Prescott College, includes spaces for community meetings and ceremonies, offers facilities for researchers and hosts tourism.
In 2016 after a two year effort, the Kenyan government recognized the first association of Maasai workers, which has become the core of community organizing in the broader Maasai Mara region. The MGA has prevented efforts to privatize management of the park since its forming.
