EL MOLO GURAPAU COMMUNITY GROUP
LOCATION: SOUTHEAST SHORE OF LAKE TURKANA, EL MOLO BA, YNORTHERN FRONTIER DISTRICT, KENYA,
POPULATION: 250-300
goals:
- SOURCE CLEAN DRINKING WATER-
Need Funding!!
- BRING AIDS/HIV EDUCATION
TO THEIR GROUP- in progress!
- BUILD SHELTER FOR TOURIST
TO VIEW CURIOS-THEYDID
IT! Through the help of our donor supported grant disbursements
!
- FIND A MARKET FOR THEIR GOODS IN USA -many wonderful traditional baskets can be purchased directly from WildiZe Foundation! PURCHASE! Proceeds will go directly back into the Gurapau Community Group.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!
SITE VISITS:
February 2002
No disbursement, follow up on previous grants
WildiZe visited the
Gurapau Community Group at the end of February 2002. At that time we saw
the results of our July distribution. The group had built the new shelter
out of sturdy logs purchased in nearby Loiyangalani, which had originally
come from Marsabit, via Nairobi. They then covered the structure in the
traditional way with thatch from the doum palm leaves. This structure
provides shade for the community group meetings in the extreme heat of
the African summer ( November - January) and also allows a viewing area
for the tourists who do come to purchase El Molo crafts in relative....
darkness! Personally? I prefer the outdoor market!
WildiZe is still working on procuring funding for the fresh water still, and have been in contact with Seychelle water purification systems for their help and advise on creating a system that will not unduly interfere with the local customs or dramatically change the way of life.. Outside of the possibilities of potable water close by, rather than continuing to drink the more and more polluted lake water. We gathered water samples and sent them off for testing in Nairobi, and as of August received the results of these tests and are now pursuing the Seychelle purification possibilities.
The El Molo Gurapau Community Group and WildiZe thanks our supporters for helping to fund the building of the shelter structure. Please help us build a potable water system!
JULY 2002
Grant Disbursement: 15,400/= Ksh (US$200.00)
NOVEMBER 2001
Grant Disbursement: 11,500/=
Ksh (US$150.00)
OCTOBER
2000
Grant Disbursement:
7,700/=Ksh (US$100.00)
OCTOBER 1999
Grant Disbursement: 6,000/= Ksh (US$80.00)
The
word 'elmolo' is Cushitic (Maasai) for 'those who
make their living from other than cattle".
The El Molo are the smallest ethnic group in Kenya, numbering about 300
people. According to some historians,
the 'pure' El Molo may number only forty. The rest being of combined Samburu
and Turkana bloodlines.
They certainly have the combined customs of both Turkana and Samburu.
Where they originally come
from is up to question, some say Ethiopia, others say Somalia They originally
settled on the northern shores
of Lake Turkana, where they were mostly wiped out by other tribes and
forced to move south to the small
islands. Due to further pressure from tribes inhabiting that area, they
moved further south to the
southeastern shores -where they live today- in front of the "Island
of Ghosts"or "Island of no return"
Here they are gathered into two villages,
one called Anderi consisting of about 150 individuals and the
other, Illah of about 70 inhabitants. Due to their almost constant historical
suffering from other tribes,
they have opted to remain cutoff from much of the world, maintain a very
traditional life on the small
island and the shore at El Molo Bay.
Turkanaland, which encompasses the southern stretch of Lake Turkana is
arid and harsh. Temperatures
reaching into the 120F in the height of summer. Average rainfall in this
area 50-60 mm., offering not
much in way of scrub land or trees and bushes, and is constantly beaten
hot desert winds. There is little
nourishment for goats, sheep and donkeys in the best of times, and drought
will decimate these
smallstock creating tragedy. Near El Molo Bay, about a 30 minute drive
by vehicle, is Loiyangalani, a
permanent oasis and underground freshwater aquifer, but this is not directly
available to El Molo bay.
Lake Turkana itself is slightly alkaline, and home to crocodiles, hippo,
Nile perch & talpia (excellent
eating and mainstay of the El Molo), and tiger fish ( lots of razor sharp
teeth- carnivorous and dangerous!)
The lake is evaporating at a steady rate of about 30 cm per year, making
it more and more alkaline, and
polluted- increasing the pressures on this small ethnic group.
Very few elders speak the true El Molo language, and presently speak mostly
Maa, and little Swahili. The
children learn English in school, and a few of the elders speak a few
words of it. They live in small huts
made of the doumpalm fronds with supports made from the few acacia trees
available. They dress
following Samburu custom- beads and and goat or fish skins, incorporating
many of the lake artefacts
such as fish bones and teeth. The elder still dress traditionally, the
youngest wearing the traditional
'selah' and the schoolage youth dress mostly western.
The life of the El Molo is languishing and is generally based on fishing,
with great ability to throw a spear
or harpoon, fishing rods ( made from the roots of an acacia with doumpalm
fiber and a forged iron point
or hook) and nets( made from doumpalm fiber). Modern' boats difficult
to maintain and rarely available
due to their expense to acquire. Their traditional rafts are made of doumpalm
logs and tied with rope. " It
is quite a feat to ride this into the waves of Lake Turkana and chase
after crocodile, hippo and Nile perch-- all
killed with a hand harpoon! The caught fish is usually either roasted
or cut into long strips and dried in
the sun on the roofs of the huts, or on fiber mats laid on the ground.
The dried fish is then soaked in the
lake for softening before being boiled and eaten. The El Molo eat very
little meat, unlike their cousins the
Samburu and Turkana who will use their smallstock for food, and unlike
these cousins, they are not
pastoralist - they do not keep cattle. The second mainstay of diet is
the 'loka' , the nut or date of the
doumpalm- eaten mostly by the children
Currently the El Molo suffer greatly from the increased pollution of the
Lake, lack of sanitary facilities and
no fresh drinking water. WildiZe Foundation is working closely with the
El Molo Bay Gurapau
community group on creating an environmentally friendly and easily sustainable
fresh water still. Every
few years cholera outbreaks run rampant through the village causing death
to the very old and the very
young. Securing funding for a fresh water drinking source would tremendously
improve the lifestyle of
the El Molo without damaging their culture or traditional integrity, and
allow this small tribe to continue
into the future. WildiZe also subsidized funding of the creation of a
new meeting hall- an enclosed
doumpalm hut structure creating shade, where the elders meet and discuss
community matters, and
where the tourists who come through the area are welcome to shop the 'market'
and purchase El Molo
crafts, this in turn helps supply some further economic stability for
the community group needs.
The above information on the El Molo was acquired from WildiZe Foundation/
Eli Weiss work with the
Anderi- El Molo Gurapau group, and the publication "El MOLO"
by Consolata-Fathers/ Nairobi, available
at the Text Book Center, Nairobi, Kenya- Box 47540, Nairobi, Kenya. Please
always include your source
information when using our information for further reports. Information
supplied by WildiZe Foundation.
© 2002/ WildiZe Foundation/ Eli Weiss