Talking of excessive, nobody had abundance of things, in fact, it seemed like simplicity was the common theme. I always wondered why we only had one axe for chopping wood, only one pair of scissors for cutting hair, only 1 kitchen knife, only 1 thread and needle and so many other things which I thought we should have had more of.
Talking of thread, I had no idea there existed any other color of thread other than khaki. It was the only thread available in all the homes and in all the shops – well, probably the shops we went to, which were only two. That thread was used for mending everything, no matter the color. Imagine my amazement when I went outside of OlKalou and I saw there was a color of thread for every color of fabric. Why didnt our parents stock up on things?
Remember the cast iron skillet (rugiyo) for chapatis that was borrowed around the neighborhood. Nobody bothered to purchase their own as long as there was one at their neighbors house that they were welcome to borrow any time. Sharp knives for slaughtering goats were also shared amongst many families. The big sufuria’s (rurinja) for cooking large amounts of food for functions were borrowed around. The sickle for pruning pyretherum, shears for pruning trees were all borrowed around.
There was a machine for fencing, locals called it Joni Kasa. It was the one used for pulling the barbed wire to create enough tension for a straight firm fence. Every time we needed to fence, we borrowed the Joni Kasa from the only neighbor who owned one. Sometimes we went to him and the Joni Kasa was out with another family some ten farms away. We waited for it to be returned, then our neighbor sent one of their kids to bring it to our home, or they personally brought it to our home as they visited briefly with our parents and caught up on matters that were important to them. That is how comfortable and easy borrowing things amongst the farmers was. Nobody was made to feel uncomfortable for borrowing and nobody was stingy with what they owned. It was like one extended family that understood each others needs perfectly.
I want to believe most farmers including my father could have afforded some of those items, but they never purchased any. Why?
