Maasai Conservation Foundation (MCF)
Projects
Shamba Darasa
The Maasai Conservation Fund has begun working with the elders of Makuyuni Maasai village to alleviate poverty in the community by developing a permaculture and demonstration farm project – Shamba Darasa.
Within this development plan, there is a requirement for a comprehensive farm design and implementation process that honours Maasai ethics: caring for the earth and all of its living systems, caring for themselves and others in the community, and sharing surplus with others. These are fundamental values in Maasai culture, and a perfect fit for a permaculture project.
Due to the fact that permaculture is rooted in observation on natural systems, the local knowledge of the Maasai will prove to be crucial to the proper implementation of permaculture systems adapted for their farm location.
Shamba Darasa will be a 20 acre, permaculture-based working farm and educational demonstration site for water security, organic and permaculture food production, and sustainable living. Please consider making a donation so that we can break ground as soon as possible in order to take advantage of harvesting the rains in April/May 2025!
Update
We are thrilled to report that our permaculture farm project is well under way at Makuyuni Maasai village. A water reservoir has been excavated and is already full of rain water, a living fence (which will become dense to keep wild animals out) has been installed, the fields have been prepared, training of the local villagers in permaculture farming has begun, and there are even some veggies starting to grow!
Maasai Village Clinic
The Maasai Village Clinic is a new initiative of the MCF. The goal is to build a small health and wellness clinic on Maasailand, and to improve the quality of life by providing access to basic health services in Maasai communities. These services include:
- HIV/AIDS prevention education,
- Maternal and antenatal care,
- Prevention of malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases, and
- Oral hygiene education and dental care.
Nashipay Community Library
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”
The Nashipay Community Library will be a small library built from the ground up by Maasai villagers, and stocked by MCF supporters with textbooks, novels and reference materials. This project with give hundreds of children and adults in the village access to books and other resources. The library will also provide informal educational services including adult literacy instruction.
The MCF is committed to provide space, shelving, staff, and a committee of local leaders dedicated to the long-term success of the library.
Nashipay Maasai School
Nashipay Maasai School has now expanded to accommodate an increasing number of Maasai children who are accessing opportunities in a culturally conducive and economically viable learning environment. These children now have the chance to realize their academic potential by building the knowledge required to participate effectively in a world that is changing around them, without losing their indigenous culture and traditional ways of life.
Nashipay is situated on Maasailand and is co-managed with the people of Makuyuni Maasai village. Nashipay teachers have a firm understanding of Maasai culture and customs, and hold professional teaching certificates from accredited teacher’s colleges in Tanzania.
The Nashipay curriculum includes HIV/AIDS prevention education as part of the overall quality education that children deserve.
Bead by Bead Maasai Women's Co-op
The expressed collective desire of Maasai women is to be given the opportunity to better their lives and the lives of their families by becoming a cooperative of fair trade entrepreneurs. The MCF assisted in fundraising to build a workspace and storefront, with public picnic site and washrooms, for these women in order to support them with:
- Entrepreneurial training,
- Pride and legal ownership in both the land and the shop,
- Financial independence and the ability to send their children to school, buy necessities such as food, clothing, and medicine, and improve their homes,
- Community building such as income generating activities
and decision-making status, and - Fair compensation for their skills.
Bead by Bead is a community-based, fair trade initiative resulting in women’s empowerment, community development, and financial independence through a sustainable source of income, bead by bead.
