Since the Cultural Tourism Programme started, things have genuinely improved for local people. Visitors who come to the village can walk through the hills, visit a boma — a traditional Maasai house — meet a traditional healer, or share a traditional meal, which members of the women's organisation prepare.
Some women have started a small souvenir market; others show tourists their boma for a small fee. Quite a few women in the community benefit from tourism this way. The shared profit goes toward the community where it's needed, but we also use some of it for food and new beads for our own households.
It's good that tourists come here. There are a few things they shouldn't do, though — taking our picture without asking treats us like animals, not people. If they ask first, I'm always happy to say yes. The other thing is how people dress: it's genuinely unacceptable for a woman to wear shorts or show cleavage here. Men can dress however they like, same as local men do — but local women still dress traditionally, so we ask female tourists to do the same.
Taking pictures of us without asking is treating us like we are animals, not humans — when they ask, I am always fine with it, but they do need to ask before they take a picture.
When the Cultural Tourism Programme was introduced, it was thoroughly discussed with everyone in the village — men, women, all of us had a say. That's why nobody minds tourists visiting; we know the money supports our community's development.
A programme the whole village voted on — and a courtesy some visitors still haven't caught up with.