Exploring Maasai Attitudes to, and Willingness to Engage in, Beekeeping

ABSTRACT

The importance of bees and conservation practices can be embedded in individuals from early childhood. The Tanzanian Maasai, known for their pastoral life, have recently seen the introduction of beekeeping activities in their region. The key question in this study was “How are the Maasai faring with the introduction of beekeeping in their society?” The research involved (1) some exploratory interviews with adult Maasai, (2) a preliminary survey of 196 Maasai children from a school that recently engaged in beekeeping activities, and (3) the main study, a survey of 119 Maasai adults from the same region who were aware of beekeeping activities. All adult interviewees indicated positive feelings toward bees and beekeeping despite how “modern” or “traditional” they felt. And Maasai school children showed their enthusiasm for and empathy with bees. Specifically, while only 27% of children felt emotionally connected to bees, 84% believed beekeeping activities were beneficial, and 70% wanted to learn more about bees in school. The study of Maasai adults showed that, compared to livestock and dogs, they were significantly less emotionally connected to bees. Although 92% were aware of beekeeping, only 4% had been involved in creating any bee-related products. Further, individual relatedness to nature was associated with their willingness to engage in and learn about beekeeping activities for themselves and their children. However, the association was weaker in the case of adult Maasai, who had a more negative attitude toward bees.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitudes
• beekeeping
• bees
• human–animal interaction
• Maasai
• nature relatedness

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.