I think I have since put it into perspective. Remember the circumstances of these Pioneer Parents. They started off as strangers in a strange land. They were living one day at a time not knowing what the future held if they failed to repay their astronomical government issued loans. I believe that is why they learnt to survive with the minimal of everything. They did not want to invest in “stuff” if they could share amongst themselves whatever little they already owned. Why stock up on so much stuff, some of which they only used once a year?
I think they had the right idea. It was like an unspoken code. Everybody purchased one valuable thing that nobody else had. They lent it out to others and borrowed from them whatever else they did not own. It worked. The farmers were so generous with each other, sharing whatever they owned. Nobody ever failed to perform a task because they did not own a certain tool. You just needed to send a child to the home of the farmer who owned whatever you needed. It was that simple.
The exchange of items also brought the farmers closer. Having started out as strangers, the exchange of items gave them a reason to communicate with each other, visit each other, giving them a chance to get to know each other. And they did. The strangers who once needed introductions, became good friends, their children intermarried, cementing their family ties and their bond as a community tightened, slowly letting go of their Gikuyu roots to become their own rooted society – Nyandarua.
