“When drought came, elders would be sent miles away to negotiate grazing rights in places not so seriously hit and cattle would be sent to relatives in distant communities. People would reduce the size of their herds, selling some and slaughtering the best to preserve the best meat to see them through the hard times. None of that is working now,” Adan said.
Francis Murambi, a development worker in Moyale, said the land “has changed a lot.”
“Only 60 years ago, the land around Moyale was savannah, with plenty of grass, big trees and elephants, lions and rhino,” he said.
FEWER PASTURES
Today the grasses have all but gone, taken over by brush. Because there are fewer pastures, they are more heavily used. It’s a vicious circle. In the past, a nomadic family could live on a few cows, which would provide more than enough milk and food. Now the pasture is so poor that those who still herd cattle need more animals to survive. But having more cattle further degrades the soil. The environment can support fewer and fewer people, yet the population has increased.
“[Before] we did not need money. The pasture was good, the milk was good, and you could produce butter. Now it is poor, it is not possible,” said Gurache Kate, a chief in Ossang Odana village near the Ethiopian border. “Yesterday I had a phone call from the man we sent our cattle away with. He is 250 miles [402km] away and he said they were all dying.”
These shifts driven by climate change are bringing profound changes.
“The cow has always been your bank. Being a Borana means you must keep livestock. It’s part of your identity and destiny. It gives you status. Traditionally livestock was central to life. The old people saw cattle as the center of their culture. Pride, love and attachment to cattle was all celebrated in song. My father would never sell cattle. They were an extension of himself,” Adan said.
Now, for people like Isaac and Abdi, Alima and Muslima, all that is gone — and with it, independence and self-sufficiency.
“The money economy is creeping in, as is education and the settled life,” Adan said. “Young people see the cow now as more of an economic necessity rather than the core of their culture.”
The great unspoken fear among scientists and governments is that the present cycle of droughts will continue and worsen, making the land uninhabitable.
“This isn’t something that will just affect Kenya. What is certain is that if climate change sets in and drought remains a frequent visitor, there will be far fewer people on the land in 20 years,” Adan said. “The nomad will not go. But his life will be very different.”
RSS