After leaving Kipkelion, I cycled over a peaceful back road to a town called Mole. This was where much of the 2008 post election violence took place. The Norwegian Refugee Council, The Danish Refugee Council, and UNHCR all set up camp here to take care of the thousands of IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) who whose lives were disrupted during land disputes. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, it was not just a simple tribal issue, but social standing and other things came into play. The NRC was building homes to replace those that had been burned down and to encourage people to come back to their shambas (farms) and work the land again.

After passing through Molo, it was an easy ride to Njoro, just 25 km south of Nakuru. In Njoro, I stayed with a family on the Egerton University campus. I met Chacha on the plane several years ago and we became friends. He is a renowned history professor there and travels all over the world (thus, the meeting on the airplane) giving lectures and going to conferences.This was the third time I stayed with his family. Two of his children were home and we spent the evening playing cards. I taught them Fish and Old Maid and they taught me a game called Colors. Egerton Universiy is unlike any I have ever seen. It is 3,000 acres (or was that 6,000?) They have farmland on which they grow several crops, a dairy farm, bio fuel plant, Model Organic Farm, Herbal Medicine Research facility, Montessori School, and even a herd of llamas.

                                                     Two farmers going to their shamba (farm)

I stopped at a small shamba on the way as I saw lots of women (some very old) walking with huge bundles on their backs. It was kidney bean harvesting time. Maharagwe is a common Kenyan staple food, along side sakuma wiki (collard greens) and ugali (thick porridge made from cornmeal) The men beat the dried bean stalks with huge sticks to release the beans from their pods. Once that is done, the women come with their rope and forehead strap and haul away the dried pods and leaves to feed their cows. As you can see from the photo below, I could not pick up this heavy load. How do the 70 year old women do it? They put me to shame!