Oh, I didn’t know that!
Some Kenyan history
Following Kenya’s independence in 1963, a section of political leaders took over government after years of fighting for freedom. They were now charged with the difficult job of uniting and healing the country, keeping the nation safe and growing the economy. For a young nation, this was an arduous task. So, the initial cabinet met and passed legislation to focus economic growth in key sectors such as Agriculture, “high production” areas of the country and zones with potential value in cash crops. This could be why Kenyan tea and coffee (both cash crops) are arguably some of the finest in the world!
What this legislative decision meant for the country is that some geographical regions developed and grew faster than others. These “high production” areas registered healthy economic progress and decent access to basic services such roads, schools, hospitals and so on. On the other hand, regions in the north of Kenya which are largely dry-land pastoralist areas suffered from lack of economic growth and continuously ranked as some of the poorest regions of the country. Even today, the areas are prone to tribal conflict and usually face the brunt of climatic shocks such as recurrent droughts, which are severe in nature. When the shocks hit, pastoralists often lose a lot of animals due to lack of pasture and water for their livestock. Furthermore, shocks such as drought, often claw back on any developmental gains that have been made by various actors and plunge more and more households into the cycle of poverty. When we see these stories in the news, most Kenyan’s living in other parts of the country form their own cognitive biases about the northern areas. Some say it’s unsafe, too far, not progressing from a development standpoint, hard-to-live in and so on. I must admit that I also had biases until I made my inaugural visit in 2012.
Not quite the problem and not the solution
My first visit to a place called Marsabit, in northeastern Kenya, occurred in the middle of a terrible drought that had left many households trapped in a cycle of poverty. Even worse, acute malnutrition among children under five years of age, and pregnant and lactating women was critically high. After a few days of observing the situation and listening to a few people, my System 1, humanitarian and development thinking, as described by Kahneman, had already kicked in.[1] I thought to myself, instead of dependency on livestock (only), we can teach them to use the available water to irrigate crops and get a majority to turn to crop farming! Well, it turned out that this had been tried and failed more than once and I was wrongly thinking about the solutions to the problem. Duffy indicates that “we have a remarkable ability to ignore facts that don’t fit in our worldview.” [2] He also adds that “we are more certain about how the world is than we should be.” What I and other actors needed to do is unlock Kahneman’s System 2 thinking [3]and critically consider the way of life of pastoralists as a pathway to solving this complex or “wicked” problem as is referred to by systems thinkers. This journey took decades, and we had to go through a process of unlearning and the humility to learn a new way of looking at the people and the problem.
Unlearning and relearning
Over the years, I have had so many “oh, I didn’t know that!” moments of pastoralists and pastoralist communities that have altered my paradigm and made me an admirers and advocate for their way of life. A few of these are: –
- Ecology – the drylands are the ideal place to practice nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralism. Communities live in harmony with the environment and wildlife in these regions and natural conserve nature.
- Social connections – the social bonds among communities are enviable. They are so strong and exemplify principles of care, concern and harmony. Their culture is deep and rich with indigenous knowledge that has sustained pastoralists over millennia
- Resilience – at first glance, it may seem that communities that lose their primary livelihood due to a shock such as drought are lacking resilience, but the reality is, they always bounce back and help each other rebuild their herds
- Untapped value in livestock – studies have shown that there is a billion dollars of untapped value in the livestock sub-sector in Kenya alone. This means that with proper investment, these dryland areas have value for the country too
Despite having decades of experience in humanitarian and development work, I have come to acknowledge my limitations in perception vs reality, the cognitive biases I had formed as well as the role of media (and society) in shaping how we view the world. As Parrish puts it, we should seek to identify the root causes of a problem and take responsibility for defining the problem. [4] In this case, building pastoralist resilience to drought is not simply about replacing the primary and viable livelihood option, but more about walking along with these communities, who are also created in God’s image[5], helping uncover the root causes that erode resilience to drought and co-creating sustainable solutions.
[1] Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. London: Penguin Books, 2012.
[2] Duffy, Bobby, Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding. New York: Basic Books, 2019.
[3] Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. London: Penguin Books, 2012.
[4] Parrish, Shane. Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results. NY; Penguin Press, 2023.
[5] Gen 1:27
About the Author
Alex Mwaura
9 responses to “Oh, I didn’t know that!”
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Alex,
Thank you for this insightful post on Kenya’s developmental struggles and how the System 2 brain can help overcome emotion and bias. The final part of your post reminds me so much of Camacho’s book and walking with others to help uncover the gold. Are the people in Marsabit willing to be coached on using their resilience to adapt their livestock potential?
Thank you, Darren and great question. Yes, they are willing to be coached and learn new ways of improving their livelihoods but they also want to be seen and heard. They believe that their knowledge has value too. So I think any actors working among them should take this into consideration.
Oh Alex. I have sat around so many tables, over many decades, listening to discussions around the rich soil of Kenya and the developmental struggles. I have no answers or thoughts, but just wanted to say what a privilege to be around you and hear your commitment to your nation. It has changed so much in the last 20 years and I am excited about what could be discovered to facilitate positive development. Thank you for your work.
Thank you, Betsy! The journey continues and it’s a great privilege to equally learn from your experience and knowledge from many years back. Thank you.
Alex, this is a brilliant narrative. I have learned through sheepish embarrassment the dangers of showing up to the scene with expert advice. “Oh, I didn’t know that” is the appropriate posture when showing up, not once the facts overrule my preconceived System 1 mindset.
That last part of your blog and the Genesis reference got me thinking about a 21 year old I know who wants to pursue Creation Care after graduation. She believes this should be led by the church rather than government. After reading Duffy, I’ll at least slow down in my rush to claim understanding on a topic where my firsthand experience is that of a donor rather than a leader. Recognizing that this could turn into a lengthy conversation, do you have a thought on the church’s place and responsibility for creation care?
Thanks for the feedback, Rich. To your question, I think the Church would be a powerful advocate for Creation Care. I know there were some initiatives (even in Kenya) back in the early 2000s, but these have been taken up by NGOs and government parastatals. In my view, the local Church also has a mandate and responsibility to care for creation and should be at the forefront of promoting this.
Alex,
I appreciate you sharing the challenges outlined in this part of Kenya and their struggle. You are correct that often, the investments follow opportunity, and those areas where there aren’t as many opportunities continue to struggle for decades.
I do not fully comprehend your experiences, but can you add diverse members to your team from an experiential or collaborative perspective to help broaden your perspectives? This might help “break” some biases and reveal other areas where you might have gaps (knowingly or unknowingly).
For example, I am not an expert in all types of products we distribute, but between the mix of teammates, we have a thorough understanding of our products and how they interact with customers.
Thanks for the feedback, Mike. Yes – broader perspectives can enrich how we deliver services and help break some of our biases. To your point, improving team diversity is one way to enrich the identification of problems and implementation of programs and projects.
Alex, I had no idea that Kenyan tea and coffee are considered some of the finest in the world! Although I don’t drink coffee, I would absolutely love to try that Kenyan tea you’ve mentioned! It’s truly heartbreaking to see people endure hardship, especially when they are doing their best to support their families and keep their country thriving. Observing the loss of animals facing challenges like a lack of pasture and water, as well as areas that are still developing, really highlights how these issues can skew people’s perspectives. What are your thoughts on how we might bring about change in terms of policy, education, and investment to help break the cycle of drought-related poverty in dryland areas? While we can’t control the weather, is there anything actionable we can pursue? Duffy reminds us that statistics can often be misleading, but one thing remains clear: when people are suffering, it’s essential that we take steps to help them.