To protect their families and their livestock, the Karamojong strategically locate their villages among stands of trees so as to make them blend into the landscape when seen from a distance. And blend in they did. Their clans are surrounded by fencing made of branches and they line those fences with the thorny shrubs through which no man would dare to pass. At night a shrub is pulled into the one small opening to prevent entry. Currently, the Somalians are the biggest threat, particularly to the livestock who have their own corral and are guarded but often without any real effect in comparison to their attackers.
A very low gate allows entry into a compound made up of multiple families. These families also fence in their homes (circles within circles) using even lower entry gates. The house walls are made of red clay mud that washes away with rain, although not easily, if there is rain. The house roof is made of thick grasses that usually keep the people inside dry. Dirt floors are swept with a straw broom each day.
Each night the family lays out thin grass mats to sleep on the dirt floor alongside swarms of mosquitoes and no mosquito nets. The mosquitoes in Karamoja trump any I’ve ever seen, particularly in number. Once the sun goes down these biting pests take aim almost as though working in a coordinated effort. No wonder malaria and worms were the two most treated illnesses during our medical clinic.
To protect their families and their livestock, the Karamojong strategically locate their villages among stands of trees so as to make them blend into the landscape when seen from a distance. And blend in they did. Their clans are surrounded by fencing made of branches and they line those fences with the thorny shrubs through which no man would dare to pass. At night a shrub is pulled into the one small opening to prevent entry. Currently, the Somalians are the biggest threat, particularly to the livestock who have their own corral and are guarded but often without any real effect in comparison to their attackers.
A very low gate allows entry into a compound made up of multiple families. These families also fence in their homes (circles within circles) using even lower entry gates. The house walls are made of red clay mud that washes away with rain, although not easily, if there is rain. The house roof is made of thick grasses that usually keep the people inside dry. Dirt floors are swept with a straw broom each day.
Each night the family lays out thin grass mats to sleep on the dirt floor alongside swarms of mosquitoes and no mosquito nets. The mosquitoes in Karamoja trump any I’ve ever seen, particularly in number. Once the sun goes down these biting pests take aim almost as though working in a coordinated effort. No wonder malaria and worms were the two most treated illnesses during our medical clinic. 
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