Wise Wall Project, Tanzania

The Maasai tribe is one of the oldest and culturally rich tribes in the world. A former nomadic society, they are now settled in parts of Tanzania and Kenya. One of the settlements is in the small village of Losimingori in Arusha, Tanzania, with around 4000 members.

The village is drought-ridden, with women walking for long hours to collect water for their families and cattle.

To bring visibility to the issue of water scarcity, we collaborated with the Maasai tribe living in Losimingori, under the third edition of the Wise Wall Project, and built a community centre to facilitate a safe space for the tribe to learn, teach and grow.

The project aimed at increasing the visibility of the village using art as a social tool, while documenting the rich cultural heritage of the tribe and the colourful stories of the people.

The mural, designed by Poornima Sukumar, were inspired by the lifestyle and societal traditions of the tribe.

We were also joined by members of the community, who took up paint brushes for the first time in their lives!

As one approaches the community centre, the first visual they see is this artwork depicting a Maasai man and a woman, welcoming the people to the Maasai Community Centre.

A striking feature in the Maasai women is the traditional jewellery they wear. The art of making jewellery is passed down from women to their daughters. The jewellery is made using beads of different colours. The collar depicted here is generally worn during ceremonies or dances.

This section of the community centre depicts the close relation that the Maasai share with the cattle. Their society is pastoral and a there is a lot of dependency on the cattle for food and as economical asset.

From a young age, the Maasai are taught how to take care of the cattle, how to herd them and to identify if the animal is sick.

As they grow older, the Maasai men take their cattle to longer distances for grazing grass and for water.

Cattle, especially cows, are traded as a form of economic transaction. Many people in the Losimingori village sold their cows to be able to fund their children's education.

In a patriarchal Maasai society, women are responsible for looking after the household. Their work includes cooking for the family, cleaning their homes, constructing or repairing their boma, looking after the children, milking cows, and collecting water.

The Maasai men go through different stages in life. From a young age, they are taught how to herd cattle, protect them and other skills essential in becoming a Moran or a traditional Maasai warrior.

Taking care of the cattle is an important responsibility for the Morans.

As a warrior, they are responsible for protecting the society from various harms. They are skilled in using stick and spear for defending and attacking wild animals who hurt their cattle.

Maasai are well-versed in the traditional knowledge of reading stars and moons. By studying the placement of these planetary bodies, they can determine the weather changes. This is an art taught by Maasai elders to their young ones.

The village had many women self-help groups to build their business of making jewellery. The women come together to help each other and would often meet under the harsh Tanzanian sun. With the centre, the women will have a safe space to facilitate and scale their business.

At one of the entrances of the community centre, a Maasai elder greets you with a smile to welcome you!

In December 2021, on Christmas Day, the community centre was inaugurated and celebrated in traditional way of the tribe.

It now hosts a digital lab for the Maasai youth and women to learn how to operate a computer.

Women are using this space to learn how to make jewellery and sell them.

With support from partners across the world, the tribe were presented with a solution to the water crisis in the form of a water tank. They are now working with young volunteers from the USA to get more water tanks in the nearby villages. This has hugely impacted the community.

With help and solutions pouring in, the tribe continues to grow and bloom~