Donkeys
People who never owned or seen a donkey up close, describe them as Beasts of Burden. Some people use the donkey imagery to deride people they look down…
Jump Baby Brother Jump
Our donkey did not “eat” any of us, but one time it came close. The youngest brother in the bunch was one time loading water on the donkey’s…
Dry Season: Lets Catch Beetles
The dry season in Nyandarua was devastating. After harvesting maize, wheat, oats and other late maturing crops in December and January, we did not see rain for another…
Wind Gusts: Undresses Mothers
As we got closer to the rain season, winds picked up speed all over Nyandarua. The winds were fierce. Women of Nyandarua had a common dress code. Simple,…
Mini Tornadoes: Ngoma cia Aka
The wind did not just affect the women. In those dry months, after the harvest, farmlands were left with plenty of dried out maize stalks (mabebe) strewn all…
Water Scarcity: Dam – Our Lifeline
Nyandarua, with its heavy rains almost throughout the year, and a very high underground water table, it is unthinkable how much its residents have suffered lack of water…
Food Shortage
The dry season did not just affect the livestock. Their owners were not spared either. The Nyandarua that is known for its high yields of potatoes and green…
Dry But Still Very Cold
With the description of drought and very hot sun in those first months of the year, you might be tempted to think Nyandarua finally warmed up. Not for…
Piped Water in OlKalou in 1970s
There was a time when Nyandarua was ahead of its time. I remember the early 1970s when we were small kids, there was piped water in our compound…
Cash Crops: Wheat
Nyandarua was known for two cash crops. Wheat and Pyrethrum. Everywhere you looked, there were fields of wheat swaying in the wind, and beautiful white ‘flowers” waving in…