Several indigenous groups live very traditional lives on the shores of Lake Eyasi. Spending a day with the Hadzabe Bushmen or the Datoga Herdsmen is like stepping back in time.

Situated two hours’ drive south of Karatu, Lake Eyasi offers an alternative cultural experience. The Hadzabe Bushmen live very simple and traditional lives, using only stone tools until very recently. The Hadzabe have neither fields nor cattle; they have no laws and no calendar and are among the last people on the earth living as hunter-gatherers – as their ancestors did 10’000 years ago. Living from hand to mouth, the Hadzabe people own very little. If they’re hungry, the men get up and search for honey or go hunting for baboon, bird, zebra wildebeest and anything else they can find; the women collect berries and fruit. The Hadzabe are the only people in Tanzania to enjoy special status when it comes to tax – they don’t have to pay any. Unfortunately, the Hadzabe population is gradually diminishing, and there are only around 700 left living around Lake Eyasi. Their habitat is also dwindling, mainly due to the activities of the pastoral Datoga people. The Datoga people are herdsmen and, not unlike the Maasai, cows are their most important possessions. The Datoga people need lots of land for their cattle; several have even settled and now cultivate fields in places that were once hunting grounds for the Hadzabe.