On most of the planet, it is money that makes the world go round. In the pastoralist communities in northern Kenya, it is cows. The region’s future — it’s community health, peace, land conservation and wildlife preservation — depends on bringing these two systems together.
You can’t drive in Kenya without being aware of Safaricom or M-Pesa. Buildings everywhere are painted bright Safaricom or M-Pesa green and emblazoned with the companies’ logos. We quickly figured out that Safaricom is Kenya’s version of AT&T; we now have Safaricom phones and local phone numbers. But M-Pesa? That remained a mystery until we attended a community livestock sale.
Pastoralists traditionally don’t trust banks. Who knows where the money goes or if you will ever get it back. Cash is dangerous. It is easy to steal and in areas of grinding poverty there are plenty of outlaws. Cows are tangible, they multiply, you can keep an eye on them, you can trade them for goods, services, even wives. They are not as liquid as cash, which is OK because it discourages wasteful spending; in a pinch you can eat them.
But cows are susceptible to drought and predation and, through overgrazing, they are destroying the land on which they depend. For economic progress to occur, the pastoralist economy must diversify. It needs money making, not livestock increasing enterprises. The banks and the cows must come together.
There is still a long way to go, but M-Pesa and Safaricom are leading the way. M-Pesa is a mobile-phone based money transfer and micro-financing system that is a generation ahead of the payment systems in the U.S. It eliminates the need for cash. For the Kenyans, it serves as cash, check, debit card and temporary bank account. You can deposit money, receive money, transfer money, buy things and pay bills all with one simple M-Pesa app on your $20 Safaricom cell phone. Since cell phones are ubiquitous among the pastoral communities — every spear wielding warrior and wizened elder has one — M-Pesa has taken off. Equity Bank, with it’s accounts, credit and financial literacy training is right behind.
Many things are changing, but not everything. A man’s wealth is still judged by the number of his cows.
So how many cows will you have by the time we visit? I am limited to 2 pigs, a partial share of 65 chickens and part of a vegetable garden. I assume that a woman’s worth is determined by the number of cows her man has. One should have access to non carbohydrate calories…..
When it really counts, marriage, it’s the father’s cow count that matters. With the animal limit you describe, I’m not sure your woman would have very many teeth. You get no credit for chickens, maybe even minus credit; those are women’s, not warriors’ animals. Good thing Robin was interested in brains and good looks rather than cows 🙂
There is a good movie called “Johnny Lingo” He purchased his wife with 8 cows, more value than any other bride price. But the real meaning was that the bride had value for herself of 8 cows. johnny knew if his wife felt valued she would be a better wife.Its true:)