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Goat 'condoms' save Kenyan herds
By Ruth Nesoba
BBC News, Nairobi



The olor is held in place by a rope or an elastic strap

Maasai herdsmen in Kenya have turned to an age-old contraceptive  
device, the "olor", to protect their precious goat herds from an  
ongoing drought.

The olor is made from cowhide or a square piece of plastic, and is  
tied around the belly of the male goat.

It prevents the bucks from mating with the female goats.

The herdsmen are using the device to limit the goat population and  
ensure there are not too many animals grazing on sparse vegetation.

"We don't want them to breed in this drought," says Mr Ole Ngoshoi  
Kipameto, a goat owner in Kajiado district.

Vital assets

The area, which is 80km (50 miles) from the capital, Nairobi, has  
received insufficient rainfall, making the landscape barren and  
forcing residents to move from place to place in search of pasture and  
water.

In the Maasai community, livestock are often people's only assets and  
sole means of survival.

"We tie this hide under the belly of the buck for three months. After  
that we remove it and then they can breed by November when the short  
rains come," Mr Kipameto says.


The olor saves employing separate herdsmen for male and female goats

The rectangular piece of cowhide is passed over the buck's head and  
front legs and secured under the belly in front of the hind legs with  
a rope or elastic strap.

"It looks like an apron," Mr Kipameto says.

Peter Ndirangu, the area livestock officer, says the olor is very effective.

"In the modern method, we advocate keeping the bucks separate from the  
breeding goats. But that is an added cost as you require two herdsmen  
- one for the bucks and one for the goats," he says.

"This [device] will play the part of a herdsman."

He says the device is very useful in keeping the herd numbers down and  
controlling when the goats give birth.

"If they give birth during harsh conditions like now, the mothers -  
the does - are going to be very weak, they're not going to feed their  
young ones properly," he says.

The device helps the herdsmen to restrict kidding to the period during  
and after the rains.

If the rains fall in October and November, the dry landscape will turn  
green again and the herdsmen will be able to settle with their  
livestock.

Until then, the herdsmen will have to employ the olor to protect their  
livestock and livelihood safe.

Those who do not use it could face a hefty fine if their bucks are  
found guilty of impregnating another herder's doe.






"A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle"

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