“Every time a cow crossed into colonial settlers’ lands, the community would be punished by taking more of their lands and animals”
- John Kisio, 82 years.

Following one of many historical injustices that affected Kenya during the colonial British rule, Red Soil is a documentary photography project that utilises black and white digital images, to showcase the contemporary effects of that period on the Maasai people.

Uprooted into different reserves, this indigenous population lost its freedom of movement to pursue it’s semi-nomadic lifestyle.

The project focuses on Maasai communities north of the Great Rift Valley, where people are fenced off from accessing grabbed ancestral lands. Large-scale ranches and farms, wildlife conservancies and government settlement schemes surround those communities.

Population pressure, drought and bad governance compound the everyday life of a tribe that strives to maintain its traditional ways. Resulting poverty and insecurity are pushing some community members into less lucrative alternative livelihoods.

A tribe once known for its adaptability and vast influence across borders, is now fragmented. The Maasai live in a constant state of negative peace.

Rasha Al Jundi (1984) is a Palestinian documentary photography and visual storyteller. She grew up in the UAE, after which she moved to Lebanon to pursue higher education. During her seven year stay in Lebanon, she volunteered with the Lebanese Red Cross and worked with academic research organisations and a local NGO in coordinating rural development and environmental programs around Lebanon. Between 2009 and 2021, Rasha worked with several local and international civil society and non-governmental organisations as a program manager, in the Middle East, north and sub-Saharan Africa. Her work generally follows a social documentary pathway. She aims to focus on decolonizing oversimplified narratives around historical injustices and their contemporary impact on individuals and marginalised groups. Rasha is a 2022 graduate from the Documentary and Visual Photojournalism program at the International Center for Photography (ICP). She is currently based between Berlin, Germany and Nairobi, Kenya.

For more information, visit: www.rashajundi.com