An obituary for the granary?

A granary is not a cultural curiosity. It was a sign of food security; it still is in the few places it remains. [iStockphoto]

The granary in a home I recently visited in Ol Kalou left me thinking. It’s about 60 years old, built on stilts to keep off water and rats.  Such structures are becoming rare. Many children have never seen a granary.

We could argue the granary is joining the cheetah, rhino and other endangered species. But I am reluctant to write an obituary for this structure, used to store food, mostly grains after harvest.

One, its end will change the configuration of homes. A granary and its stilts were the hallmark of a homestead. Most were grass-thatched. I recently found most granary roofs had a fern undercoat.

Indigenous knowledge: someone had found that fern is a natural fungicide and kept off pests!  Fern is also waterproof, another innovation. Remember, even cooked food was kept in the granary.

Two, the end of granary will make some proverbs extinct. Anthropologists and linguists listen. Around Ol Kalou and Mrima, it’s said “mùndù nì oragìra ikumbì -ini.”  Simply put, one can “disappear” next to a granary.

It was a likely ambush place for someone likely to attack you. That is one reason visitors were escorted from home. It’s a cherished tradition. Without a granary, the proverb becomes irrelevant, extinct. Modernity will kill more proverbs.

Shall we get new ones? When I challenged Gemini, I got new ones! One, “The screen that never sleeps sees only shadows.” The second was “The River does not wait for the bucket to get thirsty.” AI is something... try it.

Three, end of granary means end of food security. We are doing away with granaries because there is nothing to keep. We have no surplus maize or other grains or even cooked food. The granary is now the supermarket, not the fridge.

Does this explain why food prices keep rising? Without granaries, post-harvest losses also accumulate. I have not met granary experts. Noted how some grain silos have been abandoned or converted into supermarkets?

Four, food insecurity feeds into other insecurities. Remember Maslow’s hierarchy? Hungry people are easy to manipulate. That is why foodstuffs are popular giveaways for politicians, including in Ol Kalou. Ever wondered why the government has so much interest in maize, not potatoes or beans? 

Five, a granary is not a cultural curiosity. It was a sign of food security; it still is in the few places it remains. Let me get your verdict. Should we modernise it or write its obituary?  If you have ever been inside a granary, let us take tea, and I will be a sponsor!