Based on the strong culture of the Maasai tribe, especially in the areas of leadership and hierarchy, Therefore the main focus of this program is to work closely with community leadership-traditional authorities, men and youth to ensure positive recognition of women’s fundamental rights. Men have been involved in awareness campaigns to ensure that they support indigenous women access to leadership, decision making and access properties. Involvement of men is very crucial to ensure that women are empowered, while men feel obligated to support them and understanding the value of empowering women for the benefit of the entire community. The local and traditional authorities have also been involved to influence women participation in decision making by developing collective strategies to support and influence women participation in leadership positions.

Future Entrepreneurs and Leaders (FuELs) Project

FuELs strategies shall involve establishment of Women Solidarity Bomas aimed at boosting incomes, through a revolving livestock projects, Village Savings and Credit Associations (VICOBA), increase women’s access to markets, establishment of Indigenous Women Forums (OLTURUR LOONDOMONOK) aimed acting as platforms for advocacy and solidarity by engaging with relevant authorities to advocate for indigenous women’s rights including access to properties (land, etc), play a watchdog role and facilitate access to legal rights information.

FuELs project is centered towards achieving the following specific objectives:

• Pastoralists women and young mothers have improved income from small and micro businesses
• Facilitate improved access to secured land tenure among 2400 indigenous Maasai women as per the land Act of 1999 section 5 & 4
• Enhancing capacities for indigenous Maasai women participation in leadership positions and decision making processes
• Strengthening dialogue between the established Pastoralist Indigenous Women Forums (OLTURUR LOONDOMONOK), Village and District authorities for enhancing a gender focused development planning and integrate the same into District Integrated Development Plans, Strategies and Budgets

From Emergency to Resilience Project

Building Healthy and Resilient Communities through Socio-Economic Empowerment of Indigenous Maasai Women in Monduli district

In Tanzania, within the Maasai Pastoralist community, gender relations have been negatively affected by male dominance over ownership and control of resources and decision-making processes, the situation that have inclined Maasai women with limited access to essential services and acute marginalization with no voice to speak out about their plight.

For many decades, Maasai women have been culturally marginalized in terms of decision making, rights to access and control over basic properties including land. Their representation within decision making bodies is very minimal and ineffective due to lack of leadership knowledge and culturally undermined confidence to voice out in front of men. Gender relations have been negatively affected by male dominance over ownership and control of resources and decision-making processes, the situation that have inclined Maasai women with limited access to essential services and acute marginalization with no voice to speak out about their plight.

ENCO provide community-based programs to educate and assist women in establishing sustainable micro income generating activities, enabling women to create markets for their products, to negotiate business transactions, and maintain better record keeping.  We seek support for our small enterprise development programs through revolving grants and developing market linkages locally and within the region.

Through International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI) /AYNI fund ENCO Emergency to Resilience project were implemented addressing a number of problems;

• Limited economic opportunities and entrepreneurship enabling environment for women. Indigenous women and adolescent girls take on disproportionate care burdens with negative impacts on their economic empowerment. Due to social norms, women already perform almost 80% of the total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men. Care burdens dramatically increase to include caring for the sick, vulnerable elderly family members, and children who are home due to school closures.

• Gender-based violence increases in emergencies, impeding indigenous women and girls from participating in economic activities. Stress and disruption caused by crises often exacerbate underlying norms that lead to gender-based violence. Typically, within the Maasai community practices such as child marriage rises as negative coping mechanism.

• Disruption of Girls access to education during the pandemic: Evidence are indicating disruption of Pastoralist girls’ education more than boys. Families being unable to pay school fees resulting from loss of income during the crisis, negative coping mechanisms such as child marriage, or the loss of educational infrastructure such as girls’ peer networks and teachers are prominent concerns. This has long-term negative impacts on girls’ access to opportunities and resources to improve their lives and ultimately, on their educational, economic, and health outcomes.