In some cultures, forests are largely preserved because communities believe they house "spirits of ancestors" as well as those of newborns.
But forest are also viewed by some people as hindrances to development and also as a source of evil and power.
Not so different for Loita forest, also known as the Naiminia Enkiyio forest or the forest of the lost child. The forest is situated about 147 kilometres from Narok, where the Loita Maasai have been conserving it for generations.
“We have been taking care of the forest since time immemorial,” says Moses Kipelian, a resident of Loita and also a conservationist. “Children are taught all about the forest at a tender age thus when they grow up, they can pass on the teachings to the younger generation,” he says. Children of the Loita community are
expected to take care of trees anytime they go to graze cattle in the forest.
Loita forest is also the venue for many cultural ceremonies for the people of Loita. These rituals and ceremonies often link the people to their cultural heritage.
The forest further provides a wide array of products for the ceremonies from food and beverages to musical instruments. “This is one of the few community forests we have in Kenya. The people of Loita value this forest, thus they take care of it and incorporate their culture,” says Charles Saitabau, a Narok Land Commission member.
But it is now facing major challenges. Loita is one of the few ungazetted forests in Kenya.
“A major setback is lack of secure land tenure granting the local community ownership and access rights to the forest,” says forest expert Rudolf Makhanu, currently the operations manager of Conquest Africa.
External interventions by the county officials and other communities together with state agencies are are the other challenges. “The community is struggling to maintain access and control of the forest,” says Koin Josephat, an elder and also the deputy projects manager at Ilkerin Loita Integral Development Programme, an organisation that has been operating in the area for over 30 years representing the community and is currently spearheading loita forest community conservation initiatives.
“Developing a sustainable forest with functional and participatory approaches that will provide the community with environmental goods and services and also provide the local community with ownership and access rights to the forest through advocacy and lobbying is our main goal a non-governmental organisation,” he explains.
Their participation guarantees that the community will have a sustainable supply of forest based products and enhances ecological functions of the forest.
Loita forest is the main water catchment area in the region. The forest also gives rise to several tributaries of the Ewaso Nyiro river. “People believe the forest is alive. This is because whenever there is a drought, people can go graze their animals in the forest provided they don’t cut any trees,” says Kipelian. The Maasai are pastoralists thus they keep many livestock which act as a show of wealth. These animals are also used in trade where, for instance, goats are exchanged for other items during market days once a week in various locations surrounding Loita forest.
To date, the forest remains largely untouched. This is a result of the cultural teachings that children are given.
The Loitas are regulated by a council of elders known as the ilaiguanak led by the chief Laibon, who is also the community's spiritual leader. “The elders are usually chosen by their age-groups and serve the people throughout till death,” says Koin.
The chief Laibon as the head of the community makes all descisions on behalf of the the community. “The Laibon is the one who performs all the major ceremonies of initiation, rites of passage and sacrifices, all which are held in sacred grounds in the forest,” explains Kipelian. The Oloiboni lives on the edge of the forest and acts as the custodian of the forest. This provides spiritual insulation against any evil that may come to destroy the forest. The current Laibon is Laibon Mokompo, who also acts as their spiritual leader.