Halima and the Fruits of Mandera  

The marketplace was as busy as it usually is on market days. People were everywhere, talking loudly and haggling over their purchases. Vans and lorries unloading fresh farm produce lined up.  

The heat was unbearable, and I could feel sweat dripping down my back. Mother had just bought me a big red piece of watermelon to help me cool down.  

“I wonder how far this fruit travelled to get here,” I say out aloud as I slurped on the juicy fruit. 

“Hello, my name is Mr. Omar, and my fruits are from Mandera,” says the fruit stand owner in answer to my query.  

“Woow! Fruits grow in Mandera?” My mother asks in surprise. 

“When people hear Mandera they think it is a desert, very few are aware that farming is possible there!” Mr. Omar says. 

“Where does the water to farm come from?” I ask curiously. 

“It comes from River Daua, which flows into Kenya from Ethiopia” he says.  

“The water from the river is used to irrigate the land in Gadudia a city in Mandera and voila! The once barren land becomes good for farming,” Mr. Omar continues. 

“Halima, do you know what irrigation is?” Mother asks. I nod vigorously as I swallow a mouthful of fruit. 

“Irrigation is a way of watering plants by releasing small amounts of water like a dripping tap,” I say. 

“You are right Halima!” Mr Omar says, picking up a very big watermelon that he places in Mother’s basket. 

“How much is my total?” Mother asks, balancing her shopping basket on her head. 

While they discuss payment, I admire all the produce he has. Oranges, pawpaw, guavas, mangoes, watermelons, onions, and maize. All the colours of the rainbow! 

“You can visit Mandera and not only see the beautiful farms, but also the wonderful rock formations in Takaba and one that looks like the Egyptian Sphinx.” Mr. Omar says as a new customer comes into the stall, and he bids us goodbye. 

Taking my hand, mother and I walk into the next stall that has a colourful display of spice powders in small sacks and metal tins.  

“Hello there. I am sure Mr Omar gave you an earful about Mandera?” the lady laughingly says as we go into her shop. 

“He did,” mother says looking at a sack with very white cubes labelled salt.  

I look at it and cannot help but notice how white it is. I also wonder why it is in cubes. 

“Whoa! How white is this salt!” I exclaim unable to hold my curiosity 

“It is! This is natural salt for cows. I get it from the White City,” she says, only confusing us more. 

“Cows lick salt?” I ask. “Yes, they do, that’s how they get the minerals their bodies need,” she explained. 

The stall owner told us that the place was called White City because of its white soil, however the name of the place is El Wak, a town in Mandera.                                      

What a day! Who knew I would learn so much from a market visit. Mandera, our northernmost county, is indeed full of surprises and sweet fruits!