Dressed by development: Kenyan nomads attire depict changes after oil find

Disir

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Sep 30, 2011
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NAIROBI, Jan 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A new collection of photographs showcasing the changing attire of Kenya's pastoralists aims to spotlight how the recent discovery of oil in the country's remote northwest is slowly altering their traditional way of life and culture.

The series "Dressing" by Cypriot photographer Marina Shacola captures the clothing of the people of Kenya's Turkana region - who have for centuries crisscrossed the arid plains with their families and herds in search of water and grazing pastures.

Oil discovery in the impoverished, neglected region in 2012 has sparked hope of development and a better life for inhabitants, plagued by prolonged droughts and increased conflict over water and cattle linked to climate change.

But Shacola, who has frequently visited Turkana over the last decade, said development was eroding an ancient way of life and culture - something which she wanted to depict through the changes in the clothing of the people.

"'Dressing' is not about a few pieces of fabric masterfully matched. Every image for me is a testimony of life in transition against new environmental, economic and socio-political developments," Shacola told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Focusing on attire, I document the arc of history of an ancient civilisation which is being altered with every day that passes, and is ultimately threatened with extinction."
Dressed by development: Kenyan nomads attire depict changes after oil find

That's kind of sad.
 

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