13th September, 2024

Ruth Wairimu John

The Maasai of the North of Tanzania face significant challenges in sustaining traditional food systems. Historically reliant on pastoralism and small-scale agriculture suited to semi-arid climates, they now confront disruptions due to the introduction of exogenous farming methods supported by the government and land fragmentation mainly due to wildlife conservation, tourism and mining, composing the main development interests of present-day Tanzania, a vibrant East African country. Analysing Maasai food communities as unique ecological and cultural identities may reveal the communal and convivial practices of production and sharing that intertwine people, animals, and environments. These practices could also contribute to developing new frameworks for understanding food security from a pluriversal perspective, which is open to diverse cosmologies for human-nature interaction, particularly indigenous ones.

Fieldwork was conducted in Terrat village, Simanjiro District, from April 9 to May 1, 2024. The village is located in the Simanjiro District plains, a key wet-season grazing area situated between Tarangire National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro, two flagship icons of Tanzanian tourism. Terrat faces challenges from expanded crop production and tourism development. This expansion has led to conflicts with wildlife, prompting government direct and indirect restrictions on Maasai's lifestyle and control over the development of the region. Terrat, comprising 10 neighbourhoods, has 9,650 people in 2,312 households, with the primary economic activities being livestock keeping, small-scale farming, and related trade.

Building trust within the community and establishing a collaborative framework is fundamental in qualitative fieldwork. During my first visit in Terrat, I introduced myself to potential collaborators, explaining the research's goals, scope, and how the data would be used.      This first entry into the community gave me the chance to interact with local farmers, pastoralists, women, community leaders, and members of grassroots organisations such as Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT), Mtandao wa Vikundi vya Wakulima Arusha (MVIWAARUSHA), and Mtandao wa Vikundi vya Wakulima Manyara (MVIWAMA). 

Terrat fieldwork demonstrated the intricate interaction between Maasai livelihoods and growing economic forces like tourism and large-scale agribusiness. Population expansion and urbanisation have raised land demand, dividing and commercialising community lands. Government and non-governmental organisation policies tend to encourage intensive farming over pastoralism as a more reliable source of income, posing controversial consequences to food supply, consumption, and livelihood. These changes affect the Maasai lifestyle and adds new vulnerabilities, such as semi-arid crop dependence on unpredictable weather. Despite this, traditional food diets and practices are fundamental to Maasai identity. During our conversations, a Maasai woman emphasized the importance of these rituals in preserving and honouring their cultural legacy in the face of changing environmental and economic conditions (Woman farmer, 18 April 2024). Livestock, especially cattle, represents both status, and spirituality. Traditional meat-eating rituals build community togetherness and cultural continuity by sharing food, especially during scarcity.

Conducting research in Tanzania requires a national permit issued by the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), as well as formal clearance from community leaders in the region where research is conducted. In our case, this latter permission is crucial for adhering to Maasai governance frameworks. After obtaining these clearances, additional nuanced approaches must be undertaken before proceeding with further research activities. For instance, the use of photos and videos is sensitive, as they could potentially disclose very sensitive information, especially given the vulnerability of the Maasai in the face of major economic development plans in the region. We are now in the process of thinking how to avoid this in our research process. All these aspects are fundamental to understanding the power geometries that conducting the present fieldwork includes, and they also highlight the complexity of the processes observed.