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Portraits from Rivers of Change: Kurya Communities on the Mara River in Tanzania
The following images were taken in 2016 in the Lower Mara River Basin of Tanzania. These portraits of local people are mostly Kurya ethnicity, a minority group of mainly cattleherders who live across the border of Tanzania and Kenya. During fieldwork, my team visited people in their traditional villages in this remote part of Tanzania. The World Bank is proposing water development along the Mara River to include dams in Kenya and an irrigation scheme with a water diversion in Tanzania that will displace about 11,000 people. This proposed change to the Mara River flow can alter life for the Kurya and critical ecosystems in the Serengeti National Park and the Mara Wetlands, and impacts may be further reaching into Lake Victoria.
Kurya Community Leader | Musoma Market Seller No. 1This woman runs a shop that sells baskets and other woven items made from natural fibers. | Musoma Market Seller No. 2 | Farmer's Son No. 1 |
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Farmer's Son No. 2 | Kurya Girl | Kurya Twin Girls | Fish Inspectors |
Fishers No. 1Women fishing in the Mara Wetlands | Today's CatchWomen fishing in the Mara Wetlands | Fisher No. 3Lake Victoria Fisherman | Fisher No. 4Lake Victoria Fisherman |
Fisher No. 5Lake Victoria Fisherman | Kurya Woman No. 1Nyasarura, Serengeti District, Tanzania | Kurya Woman No. 2Nyasarura, Serengeti District, Tanzania | Kurya Woman No. 3Mugumu, Serengeti District, Tanzania |
Kurya Woman No. 4 | Kurya Woman No. 5Grandmother minds this baby while the mother is in the fields farming. | Kurya Woman No. 6 | Herder No. 1 |
Lake Victoria Swimmer No. 1Fishermen's Camp, near Musoma Town, Lake Victoria, Tanzania | Lake Victoria Swimmer No. 2Fishermen's Camp, near Musoma Town, Lake Victoria, Tanzania | Lake Victoria Swimmers No. 3Fishermen's Camp, near Musoma Town, Lake Victoria, Tanzania | Lake Victoria Swimmer No. 4 |
Mara Gold Miner No. 1Artisanal Gold Miner in Tarime District, Tanzania | Farmer's Daughters No. 1Tarime District, Tanzania | Listeners No. 1Musoma Town, Lake Victoria, Tanzania | Listeners No. 2 |
Firewood Hauler | Lake Victoria Farmer No. 1Farmer irrigating food crops. Musoma Bay, Tanzania | Lake Victoria Farmer No. 2 | Mara Farmer No. 3 |
Clothes Washer | Kurya Man No. 1Agricultural Officer | Kurya Man No. 2 | Kurya Man No. 3This man took time out of his day to accompany our team in Nyasurura. |
Kurya Man No. 4 | Farmer & Storyteller No. 1This farmer told our team local folklore stories about the Mara River. | Farmer & Storyteller No. 2This farmer told our team local folklore stories about the Mara River. | Working HandsFisherman meets Scientist |
Community Water Tap | Women Hauling Water | TZA_16_KuryaWomen | TZA_16_KuryaFarmer |
TZA_16_Waterhauling |
Kurya People
Coming Soon
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