The Maasai people live in both southern Kenya and northern Tanzania in the Great Rift Valley, occupying a total land area of approximately 160, 000 square kilometers. For hundreds of years the Maasai roamed, herded, and moved freely about the East African land, preserving their traditional culture apart from Western influences. Since the onset of European colonization a century ago, however, the vast majority of Maasai land has been taken away and the Maasai have been marginalized by the government, confined to a land a fraction of its original size. Despite the difficulties they face such as their historical loss of territory and Western cultural infringement, the Maasai have maintained their strong cultural traditions, ancient rituals and ceremonies, and continued respect for nature.

Livestock plays an important role in their economy, initially used as the sole livelihood of the Maasai. Although the grazing of Maasai cattle is criticized by outsiders as destructive of wildlife and hard on the soil, Maasai argue that in fact their cattle fertilize their land and improve its diversity, and that humans and animals can co-exist and benefit from each other.

Because the Maasai have traditionally relied economically on livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats as their primary source of income, their diet in the past has derived most of their caloric needs from meat, milk, and blood, a Maasai cultural trademark. With the advent of new knowledge about dietary needs and livestock, blood is now more often consumed on special occasions. More recently the Maasai have incorporated food such as maize meal, rice, potatoes, and cabbage into their diet. The Maasai land areas are not large enough to accommodate their traditional livestock, thus the tribes are forced to learn farming techniques, something not historically a part of their livelihood of culture.