Technology and International Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Technology and International Development - Essay Example This paper discusses Maasai community’s social, economic, and political challenges in their endeavour to maintain their culture. According to Akubue, Great disparities exists in the level of developments that any suggestion of inflexibility in technology will not be practical (Akubue, 2000). Maasai community are still holding on to their cultures despite the advancement in technology, better and environmentally friendly farming techniques, and changes in the weather patterns. The Maasai community have a small population (approximately 800,000) of the people in Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are indigenous Nilotic ethnic group, who live a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. For centuries, Maasai community has lived harmoniously with nature, engaging in pastoralism for subsistence. The men in this community are warriors and herders who move with the cattle from place to place in search of pasture. Their movement depend with presence of pasture, which makes them move to the lowlands in high season and to the highlands in dry seasons. The women and the children live in the homesteads as they engage in small-scale farming to supplement the animal products. The Masaai economic activity is based on biological assets, which are vulnerable to weather and other conditions. Therefore, the Maasai community engage in unstable economy. The problems of the Maasai community started way back in colonial era when they lost approximately 75% of their ancestral lands as a result of protection of Mau forest, which is an ecosystem supporting many lives. They lost the pastures they would use in dry seasons and their sacred sites too. Due to lack of proper grazing lands, Maasai community faces great loss of animals in every dry season. The dry seasons depleted their resources greatly leaving them in hard economic times. The threat on Maasai land is still on as private developers are moving in and investing on Maasai’s pastoral lands. Their economic