In 2016, after two years of effort, the Mara Guides Association (MGA) was registered by the Kenyan government as a Community Based Organization, the first workers union of Maasai people in history. The MGA has accomplished great things in a short time since: it has established the Prescott College Field Guide Training Program, defeated multiple attempts to alter the Maasai Mara Game Reserve (MMGR) management plan to allow for privatization, and secured election of of local community leaders. MGA leader James Ole Tira speaks to the vision of tourism in the hands of the Maasai community, a vision that has been articulated by many.

A current project of the MGA is to build the Maasai Automotive Education Center(MAEC) with Arizona State University to train Maasai people in auto mechanics. There are 33 towns bordering the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and not a single Maasai mechanic who can repair tourism vehicles, a situation that has led to exploitation of many Maasai tourism guides.