August 9, 2013
There was so much to learn at the Twala Women's Cultural Center in Laikipia. Famous primatologist Dr. Shirley C. Strum started this and other community outreach programs to help the struggling Maasai people living near her baboon research site. Each day there was a different nature walk to go on: a baboon walk with Dr. Strum, a cattle walk with a local pastoralist named Wilfred and an ecological monitoring walk to practice some of the transect techniques we learned at Mugie Ranch. Dr. Strum even stopped by to give a talk on her successful baboon translocations and the Opuntia cactus (Opuntia stricta) invasion across the Laikipia Plateau.
Twala is a welcoming oasis in such a harsh environment
Dr. Strum hiked circles around us! She's in great shape!
Dr. Strum's Olive Baboons (Papio anubis)
Opuntiya and baboons were the common theme here
Opuntiya everywhere
Wilfred and his wife gave us a tour of their boma (house)
Opuntiya is tasty!
The women of Twala sang and danced to traditional songs with us
They showed us how they collect their drinking water from the dried up riverbed
We visited a local school, which is also supported by Dr. Strum
There were students of both sexes, of course
Stephen told me he hopes to become a politician in order to help his people
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