Down on the farm

Keeping cattle is a a big part of rural life in Kenya and milk, beef and cows' blood are all important elements of diets and tribal rituals here. But there is no tradition of making or eating cheese. A small family run cheese company, Brown's stepped in to fill this gap for the international community in 1979 and it's still going strong. They do a cheese tasting lunch and factory tour at their small farm about 30km north east of Nairobi so this weekend we decided to go and take a look with some friends.

It was a great day out learning about cheese, about how cattle farming and the milk market works - regular readers of this blog may recall a recent milk and butter shortage suggesting it doesn't work as well as it might - and the challenges of running a business here. The kids got to milk cows, watch cheese being made, feed pigs, scrump avocados in the garden and generally enjoy the good life.

Lunch was delicious too. And we have all been inspired by the chilli "tree" - seeds from it are already growing in our window box.

Jamie opted to go to a friend's birthday party, eat pizza and chocolate cake and watch a movie instead so we have a perfect excuse for a return trip at some point.


Anne