Tourists who visit Kenya and pay for Maasai village tours in the good faith
that they are contributing to the villager’s welfare are frequently
deceived, it was alleged today.
The "scam" was exposed by a British woman who says that tour drivers
are taking tour fees from villagers and passing only a fraction of the money
over.
Dr Cheryl Mvula, a freelance responsible tourism consultant for Tribal
Voice Communications, says she has received death threats over her
attempts to stop the practise.
The alleged scam came to light when Dr Mvula visited Kenya last year on a
wildlife conservation project and took a Maasai village tour.
“I wondered why the villagers were pushing so hard to sell curios to tourists
when they were supposedly making money from the cultural tours,” she told
Times Online Travel.
“Then I found out that the tour drivers were charging tourists $20 each for
the tour and passing on as little as $1 to the villagers. The tours are
hugely popular and mean drivers are raking in more than $10 million a year
at the expense of the Maasai.”
Mvula’s solution has been to work with villagers, hotels, safari lodges and
tour operators to set up a payment system that sees tour money go directly
into the bank accounts accessed only by the villagers.
So far the system has benefited five Maasai villages, which were losing around
$11,500 a month, enough to install a borehole and get access to clean water.
But overturning the corruption has not been easy. “Drivers have a lot of
power here and when challenged can threaten to ensure tourists only see
grass - in other words no wildlife - when they go on their safari drives in
the Masai Mara Game Reserve.”
Helping Mvula to overcome resistance from the drivers was one of the Game
Reserve lodges, Kichwa
Tembo Tented Camp, and also the Kenya
Association of Tour Operators.
Mvula has also been supported by funding from the Travel
Foundation, a UK charity that promotes sustainable tourism. Director Sue
Hurdle, said: “The new project in Kenya addresses an issue that is not
restricted to the Mara Triangle, or even to Kenya. As a charity we really
endeavor to work on projects that, once successful, can be replicated in
other areas around the world where similar issues exist.”
In the nine months since the initiative started, the five villages in the
pilot scheme have earned over $30,000 from tour fees, an 800 per cent
increase on the same period last year. Already villagers have built a school
for the youngest Maasai children, three teachers have been employed, a
rainwater harvesting system installed and long-drop toilets built.
"All this development is due to the Maasai's own efforts in running a
tourism venture - not charity or aid. Before there were 300 children sat in
the villages not going to school - now all families can afford school fees",
says Mvula.
Ben Rrramet is a village elder from Enkereri, one of the five villages in the
scheme. He says only good has come from Mvula’s work: "We now
know our rights. The money that they used to hide from us [tour drivers] we
now have that knowledge of knowing that this money is rightfully ours – it
belongs to us, it is our property like our cows.
"It belongs to the Maasai, not to them. It is our business, our sweat,
and our culture that we are sharing with visitors. And now for the first
time in over 30 years of running these tours we are benefiting. This is
something very good indeed".
Dr. Mvula's idea is great example for the many community groups that have developed "cultural villages" and now live under the mercy of tour drivers. I believe that the management of responsible tour companies and lodges should ensure that the local communities they neigbour are not taken advantage of like Kichwa Tembo is doing here. If only many other operators would emulate it.
More power to you, Dr. Mvula.
Philip Murithi, Nairobi, Kenya
I have always wondered for how long these Maasai people will be sidelined despite the Kenyan economy benefitting significantly from their culture and wildlife zones. They rank among the poorest in Kenya, and the literacy levels still very low. The few who make it to school are actually very good - i must say i was taught part of my college level accounting by a Maasai who used to put on a beautiful beaded Maasai belt and bangles as part of his suit.
Some NGOs and the government have been putting up schools, but i think more can be done at a faster rate.
Ensuring the Maasai people get a fare share of the tourism earnings especially at that village level is a great move. The tourism industry (especially in Kenya) need to maintain this practice. The tour company's and agents can do a great job here in senstizing their clients to ensure they not only make Maasai village part of their itinerary, but also personally pass the Maasai village visit fees directly to the Maasai villagers.
Joel Mwaura, Nairobi, Kenya
I guess I have been lucky. In the 38 years that I have been traveling to Africa, never once has the driver taken money from me. In every instance, we paid our money directly to the Masai Village, not to the driver. That speaks well for C C Africa, who I use exclusively in Kenya and Tanzania. I was lucky enough this year to be made an honorary Masai, and was given a Masai name. You can see the video on UTube.
Connie Burke, Houston, Texas USA
I am so thrilled to have seen this article. I’m a Maasai living outside Amboseli Natinal Park. We knew that drivers are keeping the money meant for villagers. They truly charged $20 and give us only $3 (200 Kenya Shillings). We tried to report the problem to tour operators but our voice went unheard. I’m glad to finally see this story published. I hope visitors to Maasai villages will now be able to help the villagers recover their money.
Thank you Mvula for your effort to help our community.
Kakuta, Amboseli, Kenya
The Maasai people are exploited by the tourism industry at many levels and are impoverished by a lack of education and jobs. Although Maasai culture and land provide a basis for tourism, the local people do not benefit economically from the industry (with the exception of very limited, self-starting, village-level developments), nor are they involved in related governmental decision-making. In fact, the Maasai people living in Kenya’s premier tourist destinations are some of the country’s poorest. Despite the extensive use of their lands and exploitation of their culture, they constitute less than one percent of the labor force in the tourism industry.
Maasai do not receive training on any significant level and do not have a fair opportunity for employment. With the exception of a few individuals, the few Maasai that are employed in the lodges, tented camps, and other segments of the tourism industry often occupy undignified positions.
Kurt Kutay, Seattle, WA, USA