Day 7: Second in Garissa, after going to the office and being introduced to the CARE staff we went to the cattle market. The market goes on every week and approximately 3000 cattle are traded. The Somali (Nomad population of the Garissa district) walk down to the market to sell their herds to brokers. The broker offer very little profit to the farmers since they don’t buy by weight but by eye balling the herds! That is where CARE steps in with the LIME project trying to offer a better deal to the nomads. Basically the farmers are less susceptible to market fluctuation but, this particular time they would have been better off selling to the market rather than to LIME but unfortunately on average, they “get ripped off” by the brokers. I guess it is a buyers market because there are so many herd and very little market in Garissa so any buyer can more and less dictate the price. CARE through Lime provides access to market, but in the few occasions when demand is bigger than offer the farmer feel that they are getting a rough deal with LIME.
Going to the market was an experience. As soon as we got off the truck we attracted the attention of the locals. People started gathering around us, as everything else, you see this kind of thing on TV but when it happens to you it feels strange. It boggles my mind how this people endure through life. I guess I could get philosophical but I’ll probably leave my thoughts for another day. The price for one cow varies from 6000 to 12000 Kshs (85 US$ to 171 US$) on the open market and it depends on climate conditions. CARE offers 42 Kshs a Kg and the average weight is 200 (very low, cows are very skinny) kg equivalent to 8400 Ksh. At the moment with the draught there are very few herds available for sale so the price offered by the broker is at the top of the range and therefore farmers are tempted to side sell and default the contract they have with LIME. This is a very short sighted approach since when there will be high offer of cattle, prices on the market will plummet while LIME prices will stay same, but given the harsh conditions people are in survival mode. The reason why there are very few cows is because there has been some rain after a very harsh draught and farmer want to conditions their cows before they sell them in order to get a better price.
We managed to speak to one of the Pastoralist Production Community (PPC) member at the market and it was very interesting. THE PPC seem to appreciate LIME's works but they are entrepreneur and want to get the best price available. I’ll speak more of the pastoralist next week after we visit the communities. It was interesting to observe the interaction between Yussuf (The Project Manager for LIME) and some of the pastoralists’ leaders. It is noticeable that Yussuf has a lot of clout and command respect even from the elders. The interaction really fascinates me; it reminds me of the interaction between Sicilians in Italy! The learning shall continues tomorrow when will attend exchange of cattle between pastoralists and CARE LIME.
The day ended at a local restaurant where Yussuf bought us dinner! Very basic food, but if we consider what people eat around here that was a feast! Chicken, goat, rice and other vegetables cooked in spices!
Nearly forgot today we met Tecla a Kenyan marathon runner who hold 4 world records (so I have been told). I think she is here with UNICEF I shall find out more tomorrow!

PS Here is some info about Tecla from the internet:

Thirty-year-old Tecla Lorupe is one of the undisputed queens of Kenya's long distance running stable. Apart from her record breaking exploits on the track, she is the first Kenyan to have been awarded the prestigious Georg von Opel Award fro her active involvement in humanitarian projects in Kenya and abroad. Some famous past recipients of the award include German soccer star Jurgen Klinsman and tennis player Michael Stich.

Lorupe has also been designated an "Athlete of Social Responsibility". In collaboration with World Vision, she is developing the Tecla Lorupe Academy in her home district of West Pokot which will carter for children who cannot afford school fees. She is also a world peace activist and has used her talents to run for peace in Indonesia and promote HIV/AIDS awareness around the world.

By the beginning of 2004, Tecla Lorupe held four world long distance records, in the 18,340 metres (1:00:00), 20 kilometres (1:05:26), 25 kilometres (1:27:05) and 30 kilometres (1:45:50).