Editing Maasai people (section)

=== Influences from the outside world ===

[[File:Ludzie06(js).jpg|thumb|Maasai women repairing a house in Maasai Mara (1996)]]
A traditional pastoral lifestyle has become increasingly difficult due to modern outside influences. [[Garrett Hardin]]'s article outlining the "tragedy of the commons", as well as [[Melville Herskovits]]' "cattle complex" influenced ecologists and policymakers about the harm Maasai pastoralists were causing to savannah rangelands. This was later contested by some [[anthropologist]]s.<ref name="Sustain">McCabe, Terrence. (2003). "Sustainability and livelihood diversification among the Maasai of Northern Tanzania". Human Organization. Vol 62.2. pp. 100–111.</ref> British colonial policymakers in 1951 removed all Maasai from the [[Serengeti National Park]] and relegated them to areas in and around the [[Ngorongoro Conservation Area]] (NCA).

[[File:Lo'o Paa'pai.jpg|thumb|right|Maasai wearing protective masks during [[COVID-19 pandemic]].]]
[[File:Maasai man riding a motorcycle (close up).jpg|thumb|Maasai riding a motorcycle (2014)]]
Due to an increasing population, loss of cattle due to disease, and lack of available rangelands because of new park boundaries and competition from other tribes, the Maasai were forced to develop new ways of sustaining themselves. Many Maasai began to cultivate maize and other crops to get by, a practice that was culturally viewed negatively.<ref name="Sustain" /> Cultivation was first introduced to the Maasai by displaced [[Arusha people|WaArusha]] and [[Wameru|WaMeru]] women who married Maasai men.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-25 |title=THE MAASAI |url=https://africultures.data.blog/2022/04/25/the-maasai-2/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Africulture |language=en}}</ref>

In 1975 the Ngorongoro Conservation Area banned cultivation, forcing the tribe to participate in Tanzania's economy. They have to sell animals and traditional medicines to buy food. The ban on cultivation was lifted in 1992 and cultivation became an important part of Maasai livelihood once more. Park boundaries and land privatisation has continued to limit the Maasai livestock's grazing area.<ref>Goodman, Ric. (2002). "Pastoral livelihoods in Tanzania: Can the Maasai benefit from conservation?" Current Issues in Tourism. Vol 5.3,4. P.280–286.</ref>

Throughout the years, various projects have attempted to help the Maasai people. These projects help find ways to preserve Maasai traditions while also encouraging modern education for their children.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.siyabona.com/maasai-tribe-east-africa.html |title=The Maasai Tribe, East Africa |last=Siyabona Africa |website=Siyabona Africa |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922171353/http://www.siyabona.com/maasai-tribe-east-africa.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Emerging employment among the Maasai people include farming, business, and wage employment in both the public and private sectors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ilo.org/dyn/infoecon/docs/790/F2096573592/Pastoralists.pdf |title=Challenges To Traditional Livelihoods And Newly Emerging Employment Patterns Of Pastoralists In Tanzania |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924104436/http://www.ilo.org/dyn/infoecon/docs/790/F2096573592/Pastoralists.pdf |archive-date=2011-09-24 |access-date=2012-02-28}}</ref>

Many Maasai have also moved away from the nomadic life to positions in commerce and government.<ref>{{cite report |author=D. Sendalo |date=April 2009 |title=A Review of Land Tenure Policy Implication on Pastoralism in Tanzania |url=https://landportal.org/sites/default/files/tz-pastoral-paper-2009_copy.pdf |publisher=Department of Livestock Research, Training and Extension, Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries |page=16 |access-date=2022-02-17 |archive-date=2022-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217071039/https://landportal.org/sites/default/files/tz-pastoral-paper-2009_copy.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>