There’s Only One Cowboy

Call him the Maasai Cowboy of Loliondo. Call him a young man of the wild. Whatever you call him, there is one thing you can bet your best bull on — there’s only one like Cowboy Kashe.

Kateto Fidelis olle Kashe grew up among the plains, hills, and highland forests of Loliondo, which is east of the Serengeti and near the Kenyan border in northern Tanzania. He came from a prominent boma, or homestead, of the Maasailands, but he still recalls herding goats and sheep for the family like any other Maasai boy.

“That’s when I learned to love the wilderness,” said Kashe, who now serves as a field officer for Honeyguide Foundation.

At just 21 years of age, Cowboy Kashe has some big Maasai motorcycle-tire sandals to step into. His father, Fidelis olle Kashe, has long been a well-known figure among conservation circles in northern Tanzania, currently working as the manager at Manyara Ranch and previously managing Ndarakwai Ranch in West Kilimanjaro.

His grandfather, Peter Kateto Kashe, became the very first Maasai District Commissioner not long after Tanzania received its independence in the 1960s. In those days, he helped governed what was then called Maasai District, almost all of the areas inhabited by the Maasai.

“It was not easy growing up in such a famous boma,” recalled Kashe. “So many of us wanted to be someone big like our grandfather.”

Cowboy Kashe credits his grandfather, from whom he took the name Kateto, for ensuring that he and almost all of the extended family’s children and grandchildren received a full education. After finishing secondary school at a seminary in Longido, Cowboy went on to study at Chuo cha Farasi, or the “Horse Academy,” where he received a two-year diploma in horsemanship.

Enter the Cowboy. Kashe received his nickname not only for the superb equestrian abilities he developed at the academy, but also for his Wild West flair of always sporting cowboy boots, wide-brimmed hats, and even leather coats with fringe tassels.

Cowboy went on to earn his certificate in wildlife management from the renowned Mweka College for African Wildlife Management and Tourism and joined Honeyguide late in 2012.

With his happy-go-lucky attitude, Cowboy Kashe often flashes wide grins and lets out big guffaws. When asked about his true passion in life, he is quick on the draw to respond: “I love the field. I am home in the field. The field is my office.”

As a field officer for Honeyguide, Cowboy Kashe has supported a vast range of efforts, such as collecting field data on wildlife, assisting to train rangers, and even pioneering new community-based tourism ventures in West Kilimanjaro. He is also now developing innovative ways for communities to launch small enterprises and to reduce human-wildlife conflicts.

“I want to pass on education to all the people I can,” said Cowboy Kashe. “The environment today is not the same as it once was. I hope to influence people to preserve what we can.”