Pastoralists alternative source of livelihood as drought persists

A camel herder takes his herd of camels for grazing in Kalama community conservancy in Samburu county. [David Gichuru, Standard]

“I was once a respected figure in my community. I had wealth, with nearly 100 sheep, goats and cows. Today I have nothing. It’s killing me inside.” These are the lamentations of one Mr Patrick Lolokoi, who we find frail at his Kalama village home in Samburu East Constituency.

His was a push to a fall from grace to grass, with nothing to hold on to, as the drought that killed his livestock affected the entire Samburu County, and now over 200,000 people face starvation. There is no one else to turn to. “I am broken, desperate,” he says.