By JOE OMBUOR
In the sun licked shores of Lake Baringo in the scenic Rift Valley, ‘blood banks’ grow in the wild and donation of the life sustaining liquid is a natural phenomenon that rules out devastating shortages.
Preservation of the vital liquid is efficiently carried out by nature that insulates the banks with thick walls impervious to heat, cold, dust and other adverse elements, guaranteeing quality of the lifesaver inside. On the thick walls and the immediate surroundings are sharp thorns to keep
away marauding intruders.
Thus, the purity of the blood within is guaranteed, averting the need for stressful tests and sophisticated instruments to transfuse it. The blood reaches the veins, arteries and the pumping chambers of the heart via the alimentary canal after the natural process of eating, digestion and assimilation. The peculiar blood banks are cactus fruits known as atash by the pastoral Pokot, Arror, Njemps and endorois communities who inhabit the area around Lake Baringo where they are popular blood boosters.
Nutritionist Jane Sarich, who is in charge of East Pokot District, explains that while the fruits’ red juice is not blood, research has established that it contains lots of iron, a mineral essential for the viability of the red blood cells. "Besides, atash is rich in vitamin C that helps in the absorption of iron into the blood stream from the intestines," she says.
Iron
Her sentiments are corroborated by a consultant haematologist at the Aga Khan University Teaching Hospital in Nairobi Riuyat Malkit who associates the red colour of atash juice with iron. "Iron preparations are generally red," says Dr Riuyat. "It is obvious the fruit is highly rich in iron".
"Credit for the speed by which it boosts blood should go to ample amounts of vitamin C contained in the fruit. Vitamin C is important for the assimilation of iron, whether plant or animal derived," he explains.
"Losing blood means losing iron, an important component of haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to the body tissues and myoglobin, a protein that helps supply oxygen to muscles for energy. The pastoralists are lucky to have this fruit that restores their iron levels so fast," says Dr Riuyat.
That is life in these parts of Kenya where much still revolves around Mother Nature, with little contamination seeping in from Western civilisation. Here, age-old practices have adamantly lingered on for generations.
The thorny armour of the cactus plant protects it from wanton destruction. [PHOTO: JOE OMBUOR/ STANDARD] |
So highly protected is the atash fruit that only birds can eat it easily with their horny beaks insusceptible to thorn pricks. Man has to resort to ingenuity to relish the fruit. Birds propagate its seeds far and wide through their droppings, ensuring continued growth. When ripe, atash literally bleeds by the look of its red fluid when the thick skin (wall) is lacerated, cut or opened.
And what a boon atash is to populations around lake Baringo and adjacent areas who are generally too poor to afford transport to Kabarnet, 50km away where the nearest conventional blood bank is located.Neither can these people afford to pay for normal, blood transfusion services. "Our people have since time immemorial saved lives with atash juice," says Anne Talam, a social worker in the arid region. "We give it to women who suffer post birth haemorrhage and they recover pretty fast. Injured warriors regain lost blood in no time when they drink the fruit’s juice or eat it regularly after meals.
So valued is atash that it is protected against wanton destruction by unwritten community laws, giving a fillip to environmental conservation by minimising soil erosion. Even goats, known to eat virtually every green vegetation in the wild give atash a wide berth, thanks to its thorny armour.
Also protected by community laws that attract a curse if broken are a variety of drought resistant trees whose nuts and leaves provide food to humans and livestock during hard times. They include ng’oswo, loma and sorich that yield bitter bean shaped nuts impregnated with a dose of poison by nature to secure them against wasteful exploitation. For human consumption, berries from these trees are cooked for as many as eight hours to remove the bitterness and neutralise the poison.
To ensure detoxification is complete, the cooking is done close to a reliable water source such as a flowing river or a borehole. Little children who normally accompany their mothers on the cooking errands are used to waiting patiently until the berries are declared safe for food. Leaves that are also used as vegetables after thorough boiling are dried to provide fodder for livestock.
Rainfall
On the environmental front, the evergreen plants including atash bushes act as windbreakers, helping minimise material and ecological damage. Residents say the evergreen trees contribute immensely to the little rainfall that comes between the months of February and April.
Equally valued as a life saver is kitondo, a vegetable with tiny leaves that in the olden days colonised well watered areas, but disappeared as the rains diminished in the wake of uncontrolled felling of trees for charcoal to make quick money. Kitondo, that is considered "whole food" for its rich nutritive value when eaten raw or cooked is making a come back where irrigation is taking hold courtesy of the Arid, lands Resource Management Project (ALRMP).
To facilitate crop production, ALRMP has built weirs on selected rocky watercourses through which runoffs flow into lake Baringo, making it possible for water to spread over a wide radius on the flat, arable lands. It is here that kitondo grows in abundance.
In times of food scarcity, the highly nutritious kitondo that can also be eaten raw is dried, ground together with maize and millet to make a healthful meal suitable particularly for children, pregnant mothers and other vulnerable groups.