The Maasai Media Center was established this past fall by Jonathan Best, Prescott musician, who has been raising funds and purchasing equipment for the Center for the past two years. The Center runs on solar power, and has the capacity to shoot and edit film and record and edit sound. We are developing a digital library of interviews, music, and images. Jonathan produced the Center’s first project this fall, an album of Maasai music recorded in the Ngong’u Narok village in Amboseli, for sale by the community. Plans are being developed for a series of classes to train Maasai people to operate the center.
Documentary Project
During Spring and Summer of 2009, the Maasai Media Center will create a documentary on the topic of education in Maasailand to raise awareness about 1) the history and current impact of western education on Maasai culture and society, and 2) how Maasai people are implementing visions of culturally supportive education. The audience of the film is the Maasai community itself, and the goal is to use the film to share conversation about education happening throughout Maasailand and to educate Maasai people, to inform their work in this area. In this way, the film will be a radical departure from other films that have been made about the Maasai community to educate and/or entertain outside viewers. For more information, contact Jonathan Best at jb@bubblemusic.com
Osingolio: The Singing and Dancing of the Maasai in Ngong’u Narok
To order this CD, please follow this link:
All proceeds go to the Ngong’u Narok village and the Maasai Media Center.
