The MAASAI ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE COALITION (MERC) has been a primary mission of University Temple over the past decade. It allows us to be meaningfully connected to the globe, to support a movement toward a sustainable environment, to support an indigenous culture survive, and to work toward human rights and justice.
MERC is a coalition of grassroots organizations in Maasailand, East Africa. It advocates for the Maasai in their effort to preserve the unique ecosystem of land, rivers, wildlife and community which people from around the world visit on safari. Our support has helped block destructive patterns of hunting and poaching and of consumptive land use, and is building new patterns of tourism, education and cooperative systems between government and local community. A group from UT visited MERC projects in Kenya and Tanzania during the summer of 2003.