8) Flora

One of many flower species found in Musul Group Ranch. If this issue is not fully addressed & proper attention given to conservation & management then this & other types of flower at Musul may finish and nothing will be left in the area.

9) Honey Production

Traditional beehive hanging in a tree in conserved area. Beekeeping is another important activity to be considered for improvement as this will also help to uplift the living standards of the local community. Assistance is therefore also being sought on a range of appropriate measures, including training & capacity-building & having modern beehives & a refinery centre in the area.

10) Women fetching water

11) Rock Hyrax

Musul rock catchment. Importance of locally-accessible clean & potable water needs to be urgently addressed in order to reduce the time wasted each day by women on walking long distances to fetch water and collection of firewood. This would enable the girls and women in the area to spend more time on more important things such as gaining an education, being actively productive & able to earn their own income.

Rock Hyrax is also discovered in the area and there is an urgent need to study other important remains and biodiversity in the area.

Text provided by Daniel Lemolo,  MBEKEC.

Photos’s Copyright 2006. Elizabeth Riddiford.

5) Elephants

Elephants in the conservation area of Musul Group Ranch.

6) Musul Group Ranch

Musul Group Ranch has hilly and complex landscape which is also very beneficial to the community, especially if it’s being conserved and studies done to assist the community with proper management.

7) Local Culture

7) Local Culture cont.

All this also needs proper care & attention which will be partially addressed by constructing a multi-purpose room in the proposed community-run eco-lodge...

...so that all these aspects & others may be put in as an archive and for the continued use & benefit of future generations, as well as for the interest of visiting tourists &researchers.

1) Working Together

 

This is Musul Naramatisho Women’s Group working together with MBEKEC towards the success of the place & to try to uplift the living standards of women in the area. They are fruitful women in the area.

2) Jewellery-making

Jewellery-making is important as well as the Cultural Manyatta proposed by Musul Naramatisho Women’s Goup, as this can improve the potential working ability & livelihood of women, helping them to be self reliant and eradicate poverty among the local Indigenous Ildigiri Laikipiak Maasai community.

3) Livestock Management

4) Education.

Until recently, lack of school meant the children in the area had to walk 20km a day to school and back. Others still do not go to school at all. This is another urgent issue that needs to be addressed.

A new Sherston Musul Primary School is now being constructed. You can help local children to attend by making a donation via the Sherston Musul website.

12) Flora & Fauna

Plant species & other important birds, insects & mammals are plentiful in the area due to the importance the community has given the place.

13) Conservation Area

Part of  Musul Group Ranch and conservation area with good rocks, flowers, etc. This was a dryland before but you can see the positive changes which have occurred since the community initiated conservation measures to help protect their environment.

14) Haven for Wildlife

15) Local Natural Resources

Musul Group Ranch provides a welcome haven for Eland and other large mammals such as elephant & the rare Grevy’s Zebra.

Acacia brevispica used by local women as building material when constructing manyatta.

 16) Local Natural Resources

The bark of this tree is used in beehives

17) Sunbird nest

Sunbird nest.

18) Outside a Boma at Musul

19) Boma (homestead) at Musul Group Ranch

Even this area is full of birds & other wildlife living alongside human community & livestock.

As well as the proposed construction of an eco-tourist lodge, MBEKEC & Musul Naramatisho are also working with CCI-Kenya to set up some simple, traditional maasai Home Stay accommodation facilities, whereby the more adventurous eco- tourists & eco-volunteers may have first-hand experience of living & working with a local indigenous maasai community.

Musul is rich in aural narrative, dance, music, tradition, wear, style, indigenous local language, singing, etc.

20) Meeting with MBEKEC

Meeting with some members of MBEKEC for the official presentation of  their 2006-2012 Strategic Plan.

 

21)  Musul Group Ranch

 22) Community Health Care

Mount Kenya makes a stunning back-drop to this beautiful wildlife-rich conservation area, a successful local community-led initiative by members of the remote Musul Group Ranch in western Mukogodo, Laikipia, Kenya.

 

Further images and information can also be found at ‘Postcards from Kenya’

ALBUM 2. Koija, Mukogodo, Laikipia, Kenya — A Traditional Ilwaso Laikipiac Maasai Wedding  December 2005.

CCI-Kenya    CommunityConservation Initiative

Last updated 09/06/09

23) Making Maasai Traditional Beehive

Cow dung is plastered onto tree bark to make a traditional maasai beehive.

24) Traditional Maasai Beehive

One end of the plastered beehive is given  a series of holes to enable the bees to enter, whilst the other end of the hive is fitted with the cut-off end of a plastic drum. This plastic cover enables the beekeepers to harvest the honey without destroying the hive.

25) Traditional Maasai Beehive Predated by Honey Badger

26) Modern Beehive in Tree

Traditional beehive in an acasia tree at Musul. One big disadvantage of the traditional maasai beehive is its vulnerability to predation by local Honey Badgers.

Members of Musul Naramatisho with donated Cooking Basket and Community Health Care resource materials.

27) Bed in Traditional Maasai Home

A bed in a traditional maasai home at Musul. The single-roomed hut with a small cooking area is made of Acasia branches and cow dung. The bed is covered with a traditional red-checked maasai blanket.

 

28) Experience Traditional Maasai Life & Cultural

It is possible to stay at, and also visit,  a new Cultural Manyatta at Musul Group Ranch where it is possible to enjoy local wildlife and experience traditional Maasai life and culture.  Please click here for further information.

 

Photo’s of the Cultural Manyatta will be posted here and at ‘Postcards from Kenya’ in early 2008.

 

28) Outside ‘Choo’ (toilet)

Funds have successfully been raised by CCI-Kenya to help the local community at Musul to construct proper pit latrines & washroom facilities for guests at the new Cultural Manyatta. The funding appeal remains open to help provide additional pit latrines at local homes which will help to improve sanitation & health care for local adults and children.  Please click here to donate...

 

Funding & training is being sought by MBEKEC to help buy and use sturdier, more durable, modern beehives hives such as this one, as well as for the provision of a local honey refinery and a transport vehicle to aid the collection and delivery of honey.

Please contact CCI-Kenya if you can assist in any way...

Livestock management is another aspect to be addressed by pastoralists, especially in the Musul Group Ranch, in order to understand the need of reducing the livestock to a number that the area is able to accommodate, at a capacity that the area can hold.

Further images and information can also be found at ‘Postcards from Kenya’