We just got back from nearly three weeks in Africa spent mostly in Kenya and a bit in Tanzania. I have tons of great photos of animals and nature which I may eventually post elsewhere but for Continuations I figured I would share some of my impressions.

William Gibson once wrote that “the future is already here – it is just not very evenly distributed.” That quote stuck in my mind as we experienced an enormous gradient between the bustling city of Nairobi (with 4 million or so inhabitants) and the traditional tribal villages of the Samburu little more than an hours flight north. Many Samburu still live as nomadic pasturalists moving every 6 months or so and consuming a diet of mostly milk.

Changes to these societies are a lot harder than they appear at a distance. For instance, helping them drill a well for access to clean drinking water turns out to be a bad idea in isolation. Why? Because they will then stay in one place which results in overgrazing, which in turn leads to soil erosion and makes them much more fragile with respect to droughts. I don’t know to what degree an organization such as Charity Water already takes that into consideration but it was an important new insight for me.

Something similar holds true for the conservation of elephants. At one point in an area called Buffalo Springs we were amidst close to 200 elephants which was an amazing experience. They move nearly silently and were happy to ignore us. But they are also devastating for trees between knocking them over while scratching them, eating their bark (which causes the tree to die) and devouring young saplings. The difference in vegetation between areas that have lots of elephants and those that don’t is striking. So in order to preserve elephants enough land is required so that trees have a chance also. Some areas such as Lewa which try to protect other animals have erected fences to keep elephants out.

All three of these are things one can probably read about as well but seeing them first had on the ground provides a powerful impression. I will continue tomorrow with some thoughts about technology, education and energy.