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Rebuilding after the storm by Grace Ntesio { 23 images } Created 19 Mar 2022

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  • A young woman loads up heavy wooden logs on a grass thatched roof to support it against strong winds. Her arms are adorned with Maasai jewellery.  <br />
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This image represents the strength of women in our community, who are keeping our homes safe from strong winds, and drought.
    A woman's adorned in Maasai jew..roof
  • A young girl walks to school on a beautiful backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro.<br />
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This beautiful scenery forms the backyard of Village 3 in Enkong Narok, Amboseli. <br />
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Prior to forming a home to many of our villages, this region was all covered by trees.
    More than meets the eye
  • A birds eye view of the manyattas, which form Village 3.<br />
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Our predecessors built village 3 to position it at a vantage point for women to sell their beadwork to tourists, and for men to find casual labor in the tourists hotel nearby.<br />
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And while this provided, and still provides a means of income for many families in the village, building the village has meant clearing up the trees that were previously in place.
    A clipped birds eye view of the many..ge 3
  • A small boy plays in a dust storm.<br />
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Our ancestors were unaware of the impending dangers that clearing up trees would cause to our village. <br />
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Clearing up has made the area prone not only to shortage of rain, but also very strong winds, which create dust storms like this one.
    Playing in a dust storm
  • A tree located behind thatched roofs bends has fallen at the force of a storm.
    A dust storm in progress
  • Manyattas in village 3 engulfed in an advancing dust storm.<br />
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Strong winds are very burdensome for us as women. Culturally, it is our role to build homes, including finding materials that can withstand harsh climate conditions conditions. It is our duty to rebuild homes as well, something, which we spend a lot more time doing lately.
    Engulfed in a dust storm
  • Sepeko fastens her roof against an advancing dust storm.<br />
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Sepeko is my aunt. Upon arriving home from fetching firewood, she found a dust storm advancing into the village, and noted that part of her roof is loosely fastened. She hastily tightens it and places heavy logs on the roof to shield it from being carried by winds.
    Just in the nick of time
  • Kumba examines the damage caused to her home.<br />
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In the past year alone, no less that seven homes have been carried away by strong winds. One of those houses belonged to Kumba.
    An elderly woman examines the damage..roof
  • Kumba uses a stick to try and fix her damaged roof.
    Trying to piece back together
  • A group of women work together to build a roof.<br />
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One thing observed during these changing times is the indomitable strength of women in our community shines brightly. <br />
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United by a shared spirit of resilience, they not only extend a helping hand to those in need but also exhibit remarkable wisdom in navigating new challenges. <br />
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The woman standing confidently on the roof signifies a determined act of rebuilding her home in preparation for the impending rain. <br />
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Surrounding her, supportive neighbors join forces, embodying the power of community as they come together to assist in constructing a sturdy roof.
    Building together
  • Naiswako and Kakoi refurbish a roof.<br />
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Kakoi Memitikole is one of the most helpful and kind women in village 3. Whenever a house is carried away by whirlwinds and dust devils, Kakoi is willing and available to help. <br />
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On this day, Kakoi was refurbishing her roof, and in turn needing help. Neighbour Naiswako came to the rescue.
    A helpful Kakoi
  • Nailantei, a young bride, gets a hand from mother in law Nesai.<br />
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Nailantei recently got married and has been living with her in-laws, but she needed to build a place of her own, because her father in law lived in the same house. <br />
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This house, which she is building now, was previously owned by a different family. Nailantei's mother in law asked the previous owners to let her refurbish it, so she could make it her home.
    A new bride builds her home
  • Aiyaki watches after cattle.<br />
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Aiyaki and his mother Ngamai, a widow, owns only three cows. Grazing cattle is costly and tedious for Mgamai as her son Aiyaki is still in school. <br />
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She therefore asked a man from her boma to allow her cattle to graze with his bigger herd.<br />
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This is another example of how women in my community come up with creative solutions to changes in the environment. <br />
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In the morning, Aiyaki helps his mother to watch the cows, and ensures they are healthy enough to walk far distances for grazing.
    A wise widow
  • Mambei fetches wood from her home's roof.<br />
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Mambei is a young girl who lives with her mother and siblings in village 3. <br />
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Mambei’s mother is due soon, so she is helping her get some wood from the roof for firewood. The logs she had stored on her roof will help protect the roof, and come in handy when strong wood for fire is needed in the rainy season.<br />
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Girls in our culture are groomed from a tender age to take up care and domestic responsibilities.
    Mambei fetching stored wood on the roof
  • A young boy, Mepukori, follows a herd of young calves.<br />
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When Mepukori arrived in our village, he had been walking several days from Namanga, the border of Kenya and Tanzania, with no shoes and a torn shirt shirt. He and his family were migrating to Ekong Narok for greener pasture. <br />
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One of the women in the village, Nebusa, took some shukas from her home, and made an outfit for him. She also donated some of her children's shoes.<br />
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Village 3 is located near hotels that have greenery. This makes it a refuge sometimes for others who are seeking better pasture.
    A young shepherd
  • Silhouettes of two women chatting at sunset.<br />
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Many women are very empowered in village 3 - sometimes they stand up to their husbands. <br />
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When other women observe others being defiant, they also want to follow suit.
    A silhouette of women at sunset
  • Lengoren framed walking through the one of the gates from village three.<br />
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Lengoren is amongst the few men in our village who has earned his respect and who has not settled for laziness or drunkenness like many of the men in my village. <br />
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After subdivision of land occurred he realized he had a lot of land resting idle and decided to sell some of the land. <br />
With the income he made, he decided to invest in goats and sheep, which he was able to buy at a very low price during drought. <br />
With the drought being extremely harsh at Ekong Narok, he made a decision to move from Village 3 into another part of Amboseli, where his sheep and goat could graze to health. <br />
He is an example of the few men that do not squander their money in frivolous lifestyles, and recognised as such and respected by others in the community.
    A wise man
  • Dorcas plays with her grandson.<br />
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My mother-in-law Dorcas is the breadwinner at our home and the reason that we have not lacked food throughout the drought season.
    Tending to a grandson
  • Dorcas walks on a rangeland with Zebras in search for grass.<br />
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My mother in law is very hardworking. She sources for grass for her cattle and firewood for our home, despite the fact that she can afford shepherds, or ask for our help.
    Zebras in a rangeland
  • Dorcas works on bead-craft while watching her grandson.<br />
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When Dorcas got married, she realized that she and her children didn't had enough to live by. <br />
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She started to think about ways that she could support her family more. She analysed what people in the village were lacking or finding hard to access, and use any money she had to source and sell these items.
    Beading while babysitting
  • An assortment of jewelry made by Dorcas and other women in Ekong Narok. The women lay them on a Maasai blanket where vistors in the area both local and tourist can make purchase from.
    Maasai jewelry
  • Women looking to buy from Dorcas collection of sash.<br />
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From beaded items to sashes and food, Dorcas is the go to person for hard to find products.
    Setting up shop
  • My name is Grace Ntesio, a mother to one boy, and the photographer behind this series. <br />
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From my work during this project, I have learned that women are very resilient.<br />
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In tough times, we do not sit back helpless. We are able to come up with innovative ways to overcome tough situations occurring as a result of climate change.
    Grace Ntesio