Even Animals Need Dressing Up

It is very cold at this time of the year in Kenya, especially the Highlands, such as Nairobi and the Mount Kenya Region. Everyone needs heavy clothing to keep out the cold.

I guess Okada men wearing winter clothes in Lagos would be quite comfortable here.

Some people who keep dogs have also made clothes for their dogs. In fact it is now common to see someone walking with hi or her dogs fully dressed up. The male dogs have trousers and jackets and the females have skirts and blouses. The clothing has slits for the tail. And since dogs can start doing their thing at any time, there slits and strategic places to allow them to do so without hindrance.

Down at the Coast, it is a bit warm. Some 400 kilometers noth of Mombasa is an island called Lamu. This is a purely Islamic Settlement with a rich culture. The problem with this island is that there is no motorised public transport. The only motorised transport are a motorbike and service car for the Power Company, and a Landrover for the District Commissioner.

Being an old town, with old-style islamic houses, roads are very narrow. The mode of transport is donkeys. Now you know how donkeys are. Sometimes they have a mind of their own, and may decide to move in a different direction. And they have very sharp noses. So when one of the female donkes is in need of a child, all male donkeys in the town go on strike and there is usually no transport.

But the biggest problem is pollution. With such a large population of donkeys, they have to do what is natural, just like human beings. But they do this anywhere, everywhere and at any time, hence the pollution problem.

But the Authorities have solved this problem. Thay have come up with a type of dress or container to be worn by donkeys. That way, when there is a call of nature, everything will fall into the container and there will no longer be pollution. And the Lamu people have a cleaner environment.

Mind you, it is not fun to empty and wash the container afterwards.

Neat, eeh?