The day was warm and pleasant and we set out on our expedition into the interiors. This time our destination was Songhor Village near Chemeline. The place is so close to nature and with a lot of prehistoric sites, it is a beautiful village near the mountains. There is a huge potential to improve farming in this area and we decided to continue our seed donation program in this village. The farmers there are a well-informed lot. They are aware of the new techniques of farming. It was a pleasure interacting with them.
But what really surprised me is the fact that most of them were vegetarians. They seemed to know all about the benefits of a vegetarian diet. There is this great myth doing the rounds that native African tribes do not endorse vegetarian diet. In fact many seem to think that I am wasting my time promoting plant-based food in Kenya. During the time I was researching for my book The Veg Safari, I read that there were many Africans who embraced a plant-based diet as a matter of routine though they would not advocate it. For many, it was also because of economic compulsions. They found adequate energy for their tough life even in the plant-based items they would prepare. A few tribes have been vegetarians out of choice. So these were all interesting findings and it is a myth to typecast anyone in a particular bracket.