ARCHIVE KENYA 97 – HOUSE ON A FARM
October 22, 2020 6 Comments
.
House on a farm near Akala, in the far west of Kenya; April 1979.
These are Luo people who live in the immensely fertile far west of Kenya, not far from Lake Victoria – a vast body of water that supplies them with vast quantities of fish, and with frequent thunder storms which keep their land totally green.
The structure consists of mud walls, above which a conical thatched roof is mounted on a great mass of wooden poles. There is quite a gap between the roof and the walls but, in this hot, equatorial area, cold weather is not an issue. This hut has at least two rooms: the doorway to a second room is to the left of the people. The mud walls have decorations drawn straight onto them, and there is an oil lamp hanging up. Notice how everything, including the chest of drawers and some of the pictures hanging on the walls, has cloth covers.
Food and water are not an issue for these people, they live in a wonderfully fecund landscape. But there are diseases – it was here that malaria first got its claws into me, despite my using mosquito nets and prophylactics.
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.
Technique: OM-1 with 28mm Zuiko lens; Agfa CT18 colour slide film, rated at 64 ISO.
.
.
.
About Adrian Lewis
What a moment in time – I wonder how this differs from what you’d find there now. I like all the attempts to beautiful and warm up the space – the wall decoration, the pictures, the cloths – they make it a real home.
LikeLike
Well I don’t know how the standard of living of these people might have changed >>> except to say that many will now have mobile phones!
LikeLike
Remember this one well! Good to see it again 🙂
LikeLike
Great stuff! >>> thank you, my friend! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember this well and it’s a treat to enjoy it again. I’m intrigued by the clever artwork on the walls. And what was the reason behind all the cloth covers?
LikeLike
Well, re the cloth covers, I can’t quite remember now – I seem to remember such covers in more urban settings too; but here, where there is a gap between the roof and the wall, they may have been some protection against dust too.
LikeLike