‘This is a real look into our lives’: the Maasai women photographing their people

Ng'oto Keruke, an elderly woman in Melili, Narok. She and her ailing husband relocated from Maasai Mara a few years ago to escape a severe drought. Photograph: Irene Naneu/Lensational

In Esiteti, a Maasai village in southern Kenya, Pilale Rikoiyan cooks a large pot of rice for her grandchildren. While she and her family have adjusted to having plain grain whenever they run out of produce or are low on meat, preparing the meal makes her nostalgic for the days when her homestead owned several heads of cattle. The herd guaranteed a consistent supply of meat and milk, and an income for produce and other needs.

“Life has changed so much from that time,” says 69-year-old Rikoiyan. “We never used to work so hard daily to put food on the table.”