🌍 East Africa

East Africa is a region in the east of Africa where cattle-herding peoples keep large herds. The savannas and dry highlands of East Africa are herding country. The Maasai, Samburu, Turkana, Somali, Borana and many other peoples keep zebu cattle, goats, sheep and, in the driest areas, camels. According to the FAO, Kenya is the world’s largest producer of camel milk, and in the north of the country camels give far more milk than cows.

For herders, milk is the core of the diet, especially for children, while the herd is a measure of wealth and a means of exchange and wedding gifts. Milk is drunk fresh or soured in calabashes, gourd vessels; Somalis call soured camel milk suusac. Meat is eaten less often, mostly at festivals and ceremonies.

Droughts and shrinking pastures are changing this way of life: more and more herders are settling down and taking up farming.