02/08/2025
🔥 “Fire is life for our land.” — Ezekiel Lesootia, Maasai elder, Loita Hills
In the heart of southern Kenya, a quiet fire is burning — not with destruction, but with healing.
Ezekiel Lesootia crouches low to the ground, flint in hand, surrounded by elders and warriors. With a spark, dry grass catches — a small, controlled flame begins to creep across the Loita Hills.
This is Olosokon, the ancient Maasai practice of controlled burning. For generations, communities across East Africa — from the Loita Maasai to the Karamojong of Uganda — used fire to:
✅ Prevent runaway wildfires
✅ Restore pastures and biodiversity
✅ Control pests
✅ Prepare the land for renewal
But colonial and post-colonial governments banned these fires, seeing them as backward. The result? Today’s massive wildfires, degraded landscapes, and lost knowledge.
Now, communities are reclaiming their fire traditions — and scientists are listening. Research shows these traditional burns are more precise, ecological, and effective than modern suppression tactics.
💡 “Our fathers knew when the land needed cleansing, where the fire should walk, and how to make it stop.”
📣 But laws still criminalize these traditions.
It’s time to trust Indigenous wisdom — not erase it.
👉 Read the full feature: The Fire That Heals: East Africa’s Ancient Flames, Modern Climate Hope
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💬 Share if you believe in climate justice through Indigenous knowledge.
