A young Masai explains about his living situation and his house, which consists of a mud-covered sticks with nearly no light coming in. His boma (town or settlement) is situated near the NgoroNgoro crater in Tanzania. In the next room his young wife was laying sick under some blankets.

One of the main problems of all houses off the electrical grid is the danger of the usage of kerosene lamps. They cause fire danger, health problems and are simply very expensive, so many Masai and other Tanzanians and Kenyans just live in the dark or use the much needed firewood for light (there are not many trees on the savannah, so firewood is rare and needed.)

ExposedPlanet is one of the co-founders of FlexiWay Solar: we will try to replace all kerosene lamps by affordable solar-powered LED lights, and have already started in several African countries, including Tanzania. I invite you to check out the site and the benefits our lights bring around the world and help us where you can. Thanks!

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These little kids live in a small village close to the famous NgoroNgoro crater in Tanzania, the largest caldera in the world and home of countless wild animals.

Their village is just a collection of mud houses and the school is nothing more than just a few walls made out of sticks, offering little protection from the strong sun. While I was there, they showed me their proficiency in English by having one of the kids stand in front of the blackboard, pointing out numbers.

The entire class would then proudly repeat after him ‘twenny-wan! Twenny-too! Turtee!’, but the best was to hear them sing some local songs together.

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I was welcomed by a group of very enthusiastic children. In Tanzania, all kids have to wear the school uniform. Many kids go to primary school, but a large part does not make it to secondary school due to the high costs and often they are needed by the family to help on the land or in the shops.

Also as most people have no electricity at home, children cannot study inside, or have to suffer the toxic fumes of kerosene lamps.

I have started a new project with a good friend, aimed at empowering the children and families in a very simple but very effective way. Soon I will write more, but you can already take a look on our temporary website about the most affordable solar-powered LED lights available.

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One more shot from the Tanzanian Maasai (also spelled as Massai).

As a large part of the world is thinking about a mother and child today and tomorrow, I though this might be appropriate. Any day is good to think about those who are less fortunate than us and it is always good to learn about people who live differently, so please share this image with your friends and family in addition to maybe a gift under a tree!

Merry X-mas to all who celebrate it and a big hug as well to all who don’t :)

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Young Maasai man performing the adumu, also know as the ‘jumping dance’. Shot in a Boma in Tanzania

Eunoto, the coming of age ceremony of the warrior, can involve ten or more days of singing, dancing and ritual. The warriors of the Il-Oodokilani perform a kind of march-past as well as the adumu, or aigus, sometimes referred as “the jumping dance” by non-Maasai. (both adumu and aigus are Maa verbs meaning “to jump” with adumu meaning “To jump up and down in a dance”.

Warriors are well known for, and often photographed during, this competitive jumping. A circle is formed by the warriors, and one or two at a time will enter the center to begin jumping while maintaining a narrow posture, never letting their heels touch the ground. Members of the group may raise the pitch of their voices based on the height of the jump.

More about the Maasai, also from WikiPedia:

The Maasai (also Masai) are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well known of African ethnic groups. They speak Maa, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer, and are also educated in the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania: Swahili and English.

The Maasai population has been variously estimated as “approaching 900,000″, divided between Tanzania & Kenya. Estimates of the respective Maasai populations in both countries are complicated by the remote locations of many villages, and their semi-nomadic nature.

Although the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, the people have continued their age-old customs. Recently, Oxfam has claimed that the lifestyle of the Maasai should be embraced as a response to climate change because of their ability to farm in deserts and scrublands. But while the Maasai run cattle farms, they invade the habitats of the endangered lions in Kenya.

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Looking up in the wet (and very slippery!) rainforest zone on Kilimanjaro, you will see huge ferns, making you feel you are in Jurassic park and not sliding down from the highest point of Africa :)

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Paulo and his friends had come early in the season, preparing for the selling of Massai bracelets on the white beaches of Zanzibar. Besides being pretty fluently in Italian, his hidden cell-phone was another surprise that on one hand did not fit the picture, but on the other completed it :)

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My local colleague is trying to line up a family for some nice shots.

I love it that in the back kids are playing in the warm sea. Oyster Beach is a lively and fun place, with loads of local snacks to be eaten and music and performances to be seen.

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This kid is actually jumping off a large rusty ship, which appeared to be grounded indefinitely on the coast of downtown Stone Town, the capital of Unguja, Zanzibar.

Some dove, some jumped, some jumped far, while the sun set and some of the older guys (known as ‘Beach Boys’) started their scams and less joyful play… Not sure at what age the need for goods combined with lack of education lead to this change, but al teh young kids were still happy to play with whatever was available, in this case, a rusty vessel and the warm sea..

The ship in question was in the original (portrait) photo, but I cropped it off…

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This one is for MC, I know you like it ;-)

Though they look serious here, facing the setting sun, the kids in Paje, Unguja (often referred to as Zanzibar, though Unguja is just the largest island of Zanzibar) are so joyful. Just hanging out together, showing off their cool bikes and just walking around through the soft white sand…

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