Two Maasai women look on in between attending to their daily chores of herding the few animals they have and collecting firewood. Oloisukut riverbed, Dol Dol, Laikipia county Kenya (February 2022).

Young cows rest after grazing Mukogodo forest. Many pastoral tribes, like the Maasai, loose a lot of their cows to drought every year. The extended dry conditions and shorter rainy seasons that have affected Kenya for the past four years increased this loss. A warrior starting with a 100 cows at the start of the short rainy season (October-December) can end up with as many as 20 only by the following August. For the Maasai, cows represent wealth and status. They also provide food, milk, blood and materials for traditional ceremonies. Lukusero B village, Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

A view of the 28 km long fence that stretches over two large-scale ranches and one conservancy, covering approximately 81,000 acres of land. Maasai communities are continuously navigating those endless fences. Some resort to breaking them down after dark to access grazing grounds. Dol Dol, Laikipia county, Kenya (March 2022).

A 27 year old Maasai man gets his face painted with red ochre in preparation for his wedding. The ochre is a mixture of red soil from the Great Rift Valley and cow fat. Dol Dol, Laikipia county, Kenya (March 2022).

A warrior from the Samburu tribe, armed with an AK-47 watches his herd of cows cross the river separating Laikipia from Isiolo county. Guns are increasingly becoming the weapon of choice among pastoral tribes in Kenya for the purposes of protection. They can be easily bought off of the black market for the price of five to six cows (approximately USD 2000-5000). Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

A drone generated image displaying an overview of the electric fence that separates the shared Maasai community land (left of the image) from the vast Lolldaiga large-scale ranch. Dol Dol, Laikipia county, Kenya (May 2022).

Prepared lunch for the community meeting attendees. The meeting was held to discuss a security incident that affected the main boarding school in one of the villages. The lunch consists mainly of freshly slaughtered and cooked goat meat, served with ugali, a soft textured carbohydrate side made of maize flour. Mukugodo forest, Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

A row of goats are reflected in a pool of salty water in the Oloisukut riverbed. The riverbed has been dry for more than one and a half years due to extreme drought. If it slightly rains, water gathers into small puddles or pools like this and is salty due to the nature of the sand and rocks surrounding it, according to community members. Dol Dol, Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

Josephat Kauke, 73 years, discusses the history of the Anglo Maasai treaties in his living room. “The land and soil are like our blood. Our grandfathers died fighting for the land and we will never move from here”. Lukusero B, Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

A few household belongings in the corner of a Maasai homestead. Nadumoro village, Laikipia county, Kenya (March 2022).

A drone generated image of the shared community land in Dol Dol, north of Laikipia county. This is where the Maasai were pushed further into in the second treaty that the British government pushed on their elders in 1911. Several sources point to the fact that the treaty was signed under duress. The area is noticeably dry, with a visibly empty water reservoir in the image. Invasive cacti species also scatter this part of Laikipia that results in killing domestic animals, especially goats, occasionally. Dol Dol, Laikipia county, Kenya (May 2022).

John Kisio, 82, smiles while listening to the morning radio updates at his homestead. Nadumoro village, Laikipia county, Kenya (March 2022).

Maasai women conduct Sunday prayers at the local village church. The colonial regime introduced christianity to Kenyan tribes. While churches are generally heavily attended around the country, the Maasai churches mainly involve younger or middle aged women and children. Age and gender play a role in adopting christianity and generally the Maasai, even those practicing Christians, retain traditional prayer ceremonies as well. Lukusero A village, Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

The priest kneels in devotion during Sunday prayer. He comes from a different tribe (Kikuyu) and conducts the mass in Swahili. A female volunteer translates the mass into Maa, the local Maasai language. Lukusero A, Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

Jacinta Legei, 44, advances the women's traditional praying group in the dry Dol Dol landscape. The prayer ceremony is held for rain amid the ongoing drought. It usually lasts for four days. The people in this area have not had good rains for the past three to four years. The landscape is dry and its full of invasive cacti species. This combination leads to increased deaths among their livestock. Consequently, poverty is widespread. Dol Dol, Laikipia county, Kenya (February 2022).

Sioya Kisio, 89, poses after returning from herding his cattle and goats. He is John's older brother and the first born son of Mau Mau general, Kurito Ole Kisio. Nadumoro village, Laikipia county, Kenya (December 2021).

Trees grow through a destroyed and abandoned home in Nadumoro village. In 2018, the conflict over resources and access to grazing lands reached its peak in Laikipia county. Samburu warriors stormed large-scale ranches and village like Nadumoro to access grass and steal cattle respectively. Some families were pushed to move to more secure villages abandoning their properties. Nadumoro village, Laikipia county, Kenya (December 2021).

Maasai women gather at the water collection point in their village, close to the fence that separates their community from Borana conservancy. A woman passes a jerrycan through the fence, after which she crawls back form underneath it to the village. Lukusero B, Laikipia county, Kenya (March 2022).

Overview of the dry Oloisukut riverbed, Dol Dol, Laikipia county Kenya (February 2022).