Downtown Eldoret
Here are a few pictures of Eldoret town. They are not really
representative. I will have to do a better job of trying to capture the
feel of an Kenyan city. Generally it is crowded and there is lots of
diesel smoke in the air from the many trucks passing along the main
roads. "Matatus" - which are small vans that have been fitted with
seating for about 12 - are everywhere, transporting people between the
big town of Eldoret and many of the smaller outlying towns and villages.
Dr. Mamlin says that you can go pretty far for about 100 shillings
(about $1.25).
Birding Trip
The next morning we set out to Dr. Mamlin’s friends’ farm to
the West of Eldoret. The drive took about 30 minutes, taking us through downtown Eldoret and out into the smaller suburbs West of town. On the way we had a
pretty fascinating lesson in Kenyan economic development from Dr. Mamlin and Dino. They said that this part of Kenya was experiencing “ribbon development.”
This means that the land along either side of the main highway was being sold
by its former owners, many of whom are local Kenyan farmers. They are given
high prices for it by various parties, some of whom are Somali speculators.
These people will buy up an acre plot of land, then sub-divide it and sell the
quarter/eighth/tenth acre plots to people interested in building a roadside
business. The main driver for this move to develop the ribbon along the
highways is the booming oil and trucking business that traverses the highways
into Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, and even the eastern Congo. These
landlocked countries depend on the flow of goods and (especially) oil. This
latter good is transported in a pipeline that starts in the Kenyan port city of
Mombasa, and finishes just West of Eldoret. The trucks take over from there.
These “truck stop” areas, besides being a strange phenomenon of international
land speculation, are a brewing health hazard. There is a vibrant sex-trade
that flourishes in these areas which facilitates the spread of HIV.
After arriving at the farm, we set out on our birding
expedition. We got to see 32 different species, including the Hadada Ibis,
which has a very distinctive and mournful sounding call. This call will often
sound in the IU House waking me up in the morning. Our best find, which was
even good for the experienced Kenyan birders like Dino, was a White Crested
Turaco. This is a fairly rare bird for Kenya, and is only found in the area to
the West of Eldoret. After a lovely morning, we were served lunch by the farm
family, and there was more talk of Kenyan politics. Every time that I travel
abroad I am amazed at the readiness many people have to discuss the local
political situation. I imagine it is because, unlike in the US, where politics
are a corrupt game to be scoffed at, there is not as much insulation from the
effects of politics on the everyday lives of the people.
Note: these are not my bird pictures. Just added them in from the Interwebs. :)
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| Hadada Ibis |
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| White-crested Turaco |
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