Food Preservation

Traditionally, Kenya’s Samburu people subsisted on just meat, milk and blood. Semi-nomadic pastoralists, they still measure prosperity by the size and health of their herds, although most now also eat the so-called ‘brown’ food delivered by aid groups or sold in towns.

As global weather patterns shift and change, the 600-odd families who live in the remote village of Ngurunit have had to face ongoing drought and the uncertainty it brings. Traditional ideas are also being challenged in the face of need: women, who in the past never owned animals, have been given drought-hardy camels by donors. Many had never seen the animal before (cattle, goats and sheep were their staples).

Marc Shoul’s images capture the quiet daily battle these villagers face against hunger and thirst. From ever-deepening wells dug into the river bed, to the death and dismemberment of an old, blind camel, Shoul documents life in a society that may appear timeless, but is on the cusp of changing forever.