Supporting Income Generation for Maasai Women, Simanjiro District, Manyara Region, Tanzania

This project aims to improve food security for vulnerable Maasai households in Simanjiro by supporting and increasing the sustainability of a community-based income generation activity for women’s groups. The project also raises the status of women, who traditionally lack financial independence and therefore a voice in family decision-making.

Simanjiro is an extremely remote, semi-arid region in Tanzania, inhabited mainly by the pastoralist Maasai. For generations, the livelihoods of the Maasai have been based on livestock (mainly cattle), which provide food as well as a means of exchange for other essentials. The pastoralist way of life has come under threat in recent years from government policies - which restrict critical access to land for grazing and water - and droughts which are increasing in frequency and severity. It is increasingly difficult to sustain a livelihood from livestock alone; poverty amongst pastoralists is increasing and most families are only able to eat one nutritious meal a day.

The project aims to strengthen the sustainability of a network of 16 women’s income generation groups which have come together to form a community-based organisation (CBO) called Osotwa Mama Maasai. The groups make and sell a range of products based on traditional leather-work and beading skills.

The sustainability of the women’s groups will be strengthened through the following activities:

• Supporting the registration of the CBO at district, regional and national level
• Building the capacity of group members by providing training on business and marketing skills
• Providing training on product design and quality
• Establishing sustainable links to local and international markets, for example by establishing a show-room in Arusha and supporting the attendance at fair-trade shows and artisan exhibitions

Approximately 250 Maasai women will benefit from this project. This represents a total of at least 2,000 people benefiting from increased food security as the average family size is 8. The benefit will also spread more widely as the status of women within Maasai communities increases.

The women’s groups use available animal by-products and locally available beads as raw materials. The work is done in their boma (compound), under the shade of the thorn trees using traditional production techniques (for example the needles used are made of stiff grass).

The members of the women’s groups will continue to use the skills gained as well as passing them onto other groups, thereby improving the food security of many more families in the area.