Archive for November, 2007
I have been applying to emergency rapid response fund for purchase of the project car. Now, I got an email from them asking if I will be able to purchase a vehicle if they grant USD 5,000. The total cost of second hand jeep is USD 16,000. I have raised USD 3,000 from my Japanese website. I am guessing wildlifedirect has raised somewhere close to USD 500 up to today. If I add all, it would cover USD 8,500, leaving me to raise additional USD 7,500. Is this reachable goal? Can people help me raise fund for project car so that I continue with my vaccination? If it not possible, I would not qualify for rapid response fund and loose USD5,000 which they are considering to grant me…
Good bye 20th century Nairobi and hello stone age Mara! Yes, I am back home in beloved Maasai land. Air is fresh, cattle are everywhere and people are busy talking about siasa (politics). No one loves siasa and gossip like Maasai. The moment I stepped into savannah, I have been updated on what I missed when I was in Nairobi. Who did this and who did that, who said this and who said that… I get stopped by every single Maasai passing by. It is hard for any mzungu living in Mara to have any kind of privacy or own time.
After living in Kenya for 9 years, I am just beginning to learn how to use the matatu system. Yes, it is the notorious Kenyan made flying coffin (check out Baraza). I usually drive my car, so till recently I have not really fully utilized this transport means. I must say it is much easier to get to city center than driving my car and looking for parking lot for one hour in this crazy bustling city. I think the matatu system greatly improved since 2003 when regulated the number of passenger to 14 people per car. They used to force close to 30 people in the car before the regulation was set… People used to pour ouf of the matatu, some hanging on the side of the car next to open door, people sitting on top of other and some standing. People were squeezed in so much that people’s rear ends were peaking out from open windows… interesting scene of Nairobi which will be greatly missed.
I managed to find a lift to Nairobi. I will not be back in the Mara till next week as I dont have a mean to get back to Mara till then. I am very busy when I am in Nairobi and usually dont have any time with my laptop. Thank you everybody for all the heartwarming comments and I will talk to you guys when I am back in the bush!
I had no internet connection for couple of days. Apparently, my safaricom credit ran out and the line got disconnected. Question #1, “why would you not send a notice before you disconnect the line?” They have my mobile number so all they had to do was send a notification sms… but they did’t. Then Question #2, “Why would you take one year to change the ownership of the line?”. I have been requesting the change of ownership after my friend sold me the modem a year ago and I did received the request approval in Aug. My friend in Nairobi went to pay the bill (after queing in the line for 2hrs) and she found out that the line was not under my name. Then, it took 3 days for that payment to be reflected on the computer!! Why why why?! And why is this the “better option”?! Celtel does not make “my life better” either as network is so poor at our place I have to stand on top of termite mound to make a call… Even then, network disappears when the wind blows in the savannah grassland. ——————————————————————————–
I visited my friend’s land next to Mara River today. I was supposed to check out the camp site for the Dupoto exchange students. My friend recently build a fence around their land, mostly against the intrusion of land grabber whom they have been fighting for over 30 years. Many people have complained that the fence will cut off the elephant route to the top of the escarpment and it would interfer with their migration pattern. I originally thought so too, but recent visits to their land has convinced me that it is not exactly so. Elephants are crossing the river from Koiyaki Group Ranch to Trans Mara side (my friend’s land) to feed and they return again to the Koiyaki side in the evening. The elephant spoor and dung are all over the place and today we walked into one elephant browsing peacefully and two other dozing while standing (it was little shocking because we were on foot when we confronted them). More elephants have been sighted in this fenced enclosure over the last couple of months than in the past. The reason is the fence. The fence is keeping the Maasai herdsmen and their cattle off this land so elephants are roaming freely without any outside disturbance. Elephant dislike herd of cattle, goat and sheep. I am not sure what exactly they ditest, but they would chase away the cattle when confronted. Now the fence everybody thought would create problem for the elephant has created small elephant sanctuary where they feed and rest during the day without being harassed by Maasai cattle. Where in the Maasai land would you find elephants dozing off in the middle of the day? (no where!) Similar incident happened in Koiyaki where Maasai boma within the group ranch were forced out of the wildlife designated area. They were ordered to move to two centers located just outside the “wildlife zone”. Theoretically, this was supposed to create area without human settlements where tourists can enjoy their African bush experience. Well, what happened after the Maasai evacuation was not what many expected. Carnivores moved outside of the “wildlife area” and followed the Maasai and their livestock! Lions probably have easy time preying on livestock at night when they roam near the human settlement (Koiyaki have very high incident of livestock attack). Cheetahs also like staying near boma because lions stay away from Maasai during the day (cheetah are diural hunter and lions routinely kill cheetah cubs as well). Now majority of the large carnivores are seen near the boundary of the “wildlife zone”. Wild animals do adapt to changing world, perhaps much better than we think they would… There is no such thing as ideal conservation plan. The landscape changes, people’s attitude changes and wildlife behavior changes. It is always good to have an open mind when deciding on what is good for the area. Good intension might not always bring out as good result while not so great idea may turn out to be the solution. Sleeping elephants at my friend’s land taught me one thing today, “never jump to conclusion”.
My vaccination work has been put on halt, but that does not stop me from doing other conservation work. After persistantly talking about Dupoto forest, I managed to bring my friend from Nairobi who works for tour agency. She was absolutely thrilled to see this pristine forest and last week she came with film crew from Japan to do introductory footage for Dupoto.
My friend liked the forest so much, she even went further in her effort help the Dupoto by deciding to bring group of 40 primary school children from Japan in March. They will be coming for a week to learn about nature and conservation work. Students will join the local students from Olopikidongoe Primary School for the tree planting ceremony where they will plant seedlings collected from Dupoto forest. The forest caretaker collects small number of seedling from forest floor, grow them in their jua kali (make shift) nursery and sell them to local schools(money is directed towards their operational fund). The student group will come to Dupoto every year for the next five years.
My oldest dog Yamato loves her comfort. She loves sleeping in her doggie bed, my sofa and sometimes she even goes further in her quest for comfort.
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