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Navigating drought in the highlands and plains of by Immaculate Pisoi
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Mokompo Ole Simel is a spiritual and cultural leader, a rainmaker, and chief Laibon among the maasai community, who lives in Loita Forest.

He hails from the Senteu family lineage, from which all the Laibons have inherited the position. As such, he is charged to protect the Forest, a position he is now grooming one of his sons for.

Mokompo Ole Simel foresaw the shortage of rain, which has affected our communities in the past year. Those who sought his counsel - although he speaks in parables- were able to avoid the devastating yield of maize, which has plagued many of us.

Mokompo is the guardian of Loita Forest and is strongly opposed to land demarcation, which would mean that each household gets a specific piece of land. He believes demarcation, rather than community ownership, will exacerbate the effects of climate change, as there won't be clear boundaries anymore, and people will devalue his authority.

According to Mokompo, the drought is being caused by people increasingly lacking respect for the forest, and cutting down trees.

Filename
Guardian of the Loita forest
Copyright
©Immaculate Pisoi/ Lensational
Image Size
6000x4000 / 1.9MB
Mokompo Ole Simel is a spiritual and cultural leader, a rainmaker, and chief Laibon among the maasai community, who lives in Loita Forest. <br /> <br /> He hails from the Senteu family lineage, from which all the Laibons have inherited the position. As such, he is charged to protect the Forest, a position he is now grooming one of his sons for.<br /> <br /> Mokompo Ole Simel foresaw the shortage of rain, which has affected our communities in the past year. Those who sought his counsel - although he speaks in parables- were able to avoid the devastating yield of maize, which has plagued many of us.<br /> <br /> Mokompo is the guardian of Loita Forest and is strongly opposed to land demarcation, which would mean that each household gets a specific piece of land. He believes demarcation, rather than community ownership, will exacerbate the effects of climate change, as there won't be clear boundaries anymore, and people will devalue his authority. <br /> <br /> According to Mokompo, the drought is being caused by people increasingly lacking respect for the forest, and cutting down trees.