1/3/2011

More pictures…

These kids are sitting in the shade gutting the rats they just caught to eat. 

Cattle are a way of life here. Boys from a very young age are responsible to move the cows from the home where they are protected at night out to graze, to water and then back at night. The dry season is only a few months old right now and they still don’t have to go TOO far (though they still walk all day) but as it gets drier and water becomes scarcer they will have to work harder and harder.

This woman is “smearing “. This particular activity is done periodically around homes here to keep the dust down and keep the home cleaner. Ironic because it consists of smearing liquid cattle sh*t around.  But somehow it works. It bakes hard in the sun and is much nicer to sit on than the dusty ground which if not smeared is hard to sweep so often has chicken, goat and human excrement and increases the risk of all those pesky parasites that tend to attach themselves to you here.

This man is grinding leaves that are similar to tobacco.  One of the few jobs that I saw men doing. Most of the work around here is considered a woman thing. Anyway, they grind it up, mix it with stuff like hot chilies or ashes from the fire and sniff it.

Homes in this part of Karamoja are slightly different than in other parts of Karamoja but one thing is pretty consistent- they are hard to get into. They do this on purpose because so much of their time is consumed with keeping enemies out.

This is the season for building homes. It is far too hot and dry to be trying to grow anything right now so they take this time to construct new homes or repair old ones.