How to Cook Camel

I have been learning a lot about the area and its inhabitants. Kalacha lies at the northern tip of the Chalbi desert, which extends south for probably 60 miles or more. Lake Turkana lies to the west; most of the famous hominid fossils found in Turkana are from the western side of the lake, and not near to where we are. To the north is Ethiopia. Before reaching Ethiopia, however, is a mountain range called the Huri hills. I will not have time to get there on this trip, but they are said to have some of the best grazing land in all of Kenya. The area is green because of continual moisture from clouds. Unfortunately, there is no permanent water source in the hills, so the herdsman move their cattle between the Huris and the springs along the edge of the Chalbi after the water from the rainy season dries up.

Kalacha is home to approximately 4,000 people, most of whom belong to the Gabbra tribe. I’ve been told that the Gabbra arrived in Kenya only about 100 years ago. They moved south out of Ethiopia at the turn of the century to avoid persecution and found their way to the desert, presumably to a place where other tribes had not settled. They speak a language that is quite similar to the Borana tribe, which has land to the east. To the south are lands controlled by the Rendile (check spelling) and then the Samburu.  The Gabbra are nomadic herders who shepherd their herds between water and forage for most of the year. Although they have lots of goats and a few cattle, they are known for their camels.

When we asked for some goat meat from the butcher, we were instead delivered camel meat. For about $4.00, we were given more than four pounds of what looked like quite tender camel meat. Wilson cooked about two pounds the first night and it was indeed quite tasty. He cut the pieces very small and cooked them for a long time. I decided to try something a bit different the following night and cut the pieces a bit bigger and cooked them for less time, as I like my meat rarer than he does. This was a bad idea. It seems that the more you cook camel, the more tender it becomes. So we had what amounted to two pounds or more  of rubber for dinner that night.

Over the past few days we have been making steady progress trapping birds. Since we found the locations where the birds come to feed, we have captured more than half of the individuals we need in only seven days (over 25 birds). Starlings and sparrows are proving easy to catch, but the bulbuls are quite elusive. Hopefully, we will find a few more of these in the coming days and finish our work a bit early, so we can head home and begin the process again there. Yesterday we set our record for the most birds caught in a day: six. I think I have to thank Wilson, as it was his birthday and he must have brought us good luck. His birthday, however, didn’t start off well. A troop of baboons decided to sleep behind our rooms the night before. They woke us up all night with their screaming and howling. Poor Wilson only got about two hours of sleep and was lethargic for his entire birthday.

Between trapping sessions, we were invited to Sunday lunch at the mission. A meal of tender lamb, mash potatoes, fresh vegetables, and lemon meringue pie—my favorite—was a welcome change from our usual fare. In was a real family-style affair with all five kids and the four adults. In addition to the camel meat treat we had the past two nights, we typically eat pasta, rice, or ugali (maize meal paste) for dinner. With our carbohydrate-loaded main course, we have canned vegetables such as peas, beans, or corn.

It’s sad to say, but I think I have been actually eating more vegetables here than I do at home, if only because we don’t have anything else to eat. I also eat smaller and healthier portions. We just received a shipment of cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions from Marsabit, so we will be eating fresh produce for the next few days. For lunch we have chapattis (flat breads) with peanut butter and jam. For breakfast we have cereal and/or tea. Although it doesn’t sound like a filling amount of food, we are both more than satisfied, as we don’t seem to have much of an appetite here.

Even at the big lunch today, I couldn’t eat very much. I do look forward to getting back to the savanna, however, and getting a bit more variety in my diet. We did a quick inventory tonight to see what food we have left. It will be tight, but I think we should have enough to make it another 10 days if the trapping takes that long.