Before colonizers arrived, Maasai tribes occupied the most fertile areas of East Africa. Now, like many indigenous groups around the world, Maasai culture is being threatened by rapid assimilation. The economic pressures of globalization are forcing them to abandon their semi-nomadic, pastoral way of life as well as the associated traditions, knowledge, and values.

Alongside our various efforts towards Maasai economic empowerment, Adumu Impact seeks to preserve Maasai culture for future generations by building cultural centers. These centers will act as an analog to Sunday school, safeguarding the traditional knowledge and stories of community elders.

They will also act as embassies from which to welcome visitors and teach them about Maasai culture, history, and language.

The ultimate goal of Adumu Impact is to reassert Maasai land rights by buying back their traditional homelands. Within decades of their arrival, colonizers had taken two-thirds of their land, pushing them into less fertile areas. Today, foreign investors continue that colonial legacy by purchasing or violently evicting Maasai from their land. These human rights violations often receive little media attention.

With the profits from Adumu Safaris, Adumu Impact will purchase land and return it to the Maasai to form a new wildlife management area (WMA) in Northern Tanzania. The WMA will augment wildlife migration corridors for the conservation of wildlife. Additionally, the WMA will support nature-based livelihoods in conservation and tourism for up to 50,000 people. This will include 200 Maasai warriors trained to protect animals from poaching.

Protecting Maasai indigenous land rights is the most important step towards Maasai empowerment and self-determination. At Adumu Impact, we strongly believe that there is tremendous opportunity in leveraging the highly profitable safari industry to the benefit of the people who have inhabited the land for centuries – the Maasai.