Tanzania: Pastoralists Perform Magical Feats - Grass to Meat, Grass to School Fees

BY my calculations based on figures in Njombe and Msanga's important paper on lifestock production in Tanzania, pastoralists alone account for almost a full 1% of Tanzania's gross domestic product (GDP).
That is, they produce 1% of all the products and services produced in Tanzania. And even this is an underestimate because it only includes the products that reach market. Sometimes it seems that they do this in spite of quite a lot of harassment and even disrespect.
Some people consider that pastoralists are "unproductive" - but I have seen figures from Kenya which show individual pastoralists are far more productive than individual farmers.
That seems realistic to my eyes. The primary requirements for pastoralist production are livestock, labour, and access to grazing and water resources.
It has been found that it is more economical to produce cattle through pastoralism than feeding them grain, making it possible for pastoralists to earn a basic living selling milk or meat from even relatively low herd numbers. Research has confirmed that the pastoral Maasai lifestyle, which discourages eating wild animals, is harmonious with nature.

They create some of the highest quality meat in the world from grass, hardly disturbing other users of the ecosystem such as wildlife (even hunting), beekeepers, foresters, and water catchment. That this is true, is fully evident wherever they live. Their lifestyle and productivity happens in co-existence with the ecosystem. This has been true for centuries. The proof of co-existence is fully evident wherever they live.
A few years ago I was watching pastoralists herding their cattle about a hundred kilometers south of Dar es Salaam. They had been moved out of areas in the west and been instructed to go east and south. So they did. The cattle were being herded by strong young men.
I imagined myself as one of those long-legged youth, and was amazed at how much alertness, strength, and bravery it seemed I would need to do the job. And skill. Only some people know how to herd cattle and create meat from grass. But you are travelling with your food, so you don't have to fear hunger. I imagined it is always interesting, challenging, free, healthy.