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Katie Powers

The Mountain People

Section I: Culture Review
Colin Turnbulls The Mountain People studies the Ik tribe who can be found in North Uganda, close to the

Sudan and Kenya borders (17). Originally the Ik were hunters and gatherers, but were forced by the

government to settle in one area (Turnbull, 20). Settlement is not typical of hunters and gatherers, who

usually never stay in the same spot for more than a few days. Hunters and gatherers are known

constantly travel to wherever their food source is. The area in Kidepo Valley in which the IK people

have settled is suffering from a major drought and is extremely difficult to grow any crops (Turnbull, 84).

The Ik have no knowledge of farming or storing food and are struggling desperately from famine. The

main water hole in the village that Turnbull stayed by (Atums village) is used for livestock to drink from,

to bathe the people and their cloths, and is very close to where many of the villagers defecate (79). The

villagers also frequently defecate on each others doorsteps (Turnbull, 259). Because they had always

traveled in the past, Icien are not aware of the importance of having clean drinking water and the risk of

infection and disease. According to Turnbull, pains from famine Icien have suffered are so severe the

tribe has lost all of their innate characteristics of humans such as love, compassion, belief, and hope

(289). All of these great qualities of mankind that separate us from animals are reportedly replaced with

survival. This will to live is an individual premise, not the tribe working together to sustain. Each person

lives to survive, and only survive. It is survival of the fittest without truly living life, no matter what the

cost (Turnbull, 130).

Procreation is an inconvenience and is not cause for celebration. The mother takes care of the child the

age of three. Once the child turns three they are not allowed to sleep in the house and have to live on

their own and find their own food. Groups of children close to the same age often group together to

form bands to try to survive. Eventually there is always betrayal within the band to get food or try to

establish a leader. By the age of eight or nine, the girls already learn how to sell their bodies to receive

food (Turnbull, 135-139).

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Old people are useless; the Icien said providing anything to them was a waste, and refer to them as

already dead. Colin Turnbull has been reprimanded several times for giving food or supplies on old

people. The elders, although always ask for food, seem to know and understand this cycle of life and

understand their fate (Turnbull, 222-235).

The main source of entertainment for the Ik people is to laugh at the expense of someone else. There

are numerous counts of Icien laughing when someone is injured or dies. The youth are especially mean

to the elderly and other children, often hurting them for entertainment (Turnbull, 113-114, 261-262)
Because each individual is only concerned to feed themselves and survive, there is no sense of family,

friendship, or love within the villages. If someone is nice or kind, it is almost always to receive something

in return or to betray (Turnbull, 146). Any villager who shows kindness is weak and will ultimately die.

Two examples of this are Adupa and Kauar.

Icien have relationships with other tribes as well, specifically the Dodos and Turkana. They often deceive

one tribe for another in order to receive something in return, usually food. The Dodos and Turkana are

both aware of these relationships, but it is customary and accepted (Turnbull, 244).
After three years of observation Turnbull left the Ik people discouraged and disheartened from his

experience but return a few months later, after hearing the draught was over which means the famine

was also over. Although there are less raids and starving, the human traits still cease to exist, even with

excess food. Every man, woman, and child is only concerned for their own needs. They have more than

enough to eat, but waste most of it. There is no storing or salvaging food, or giving food to the youth or

elders. The Ik people still receive famine relief from the government. They do not want to tend to their

gardens or store excess food because they could lose their free food from the government if they had a

supply from their harvest. The young and healthy that can make it down from the Pirre to receive the

food and say they will bring rations back to the ones that could not make it, but that never happens.

They stop along the way back to the village and gorge themselves with as much food as possible. At

times the eat so much they vomit and then eat more so when they get back to the village they say they
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only received a little food. Turnbull considers them parasites and after his last trip and feels there is

emptiness among them (Turnbull, 281-282).

From what I have learned from the monograph, the Ik people have not always been the cold-hearted

self-seeking people they are today. They do not have the knowledge or material to withstand their new

environment; where they are required to settle; and have resorted to their one last instinct left, survival.

With proper education and resources they can become self -sufficient as a tribe and community again.
Section II: Needs Assessment
Water: The Ik people are in need of a clean sustainable water source. The Ik population continues to

decrease due to lack of water. They need a source of clean drinking water, utility water for washing and

use for crops, and a separate source for animals. A permanent water source is currently very difficult for

them to achieve because of the long periods of severe draught.

Food: The Ik have been suffering from famine for years. They have been known to eat rocks or pebbles,

just to consume something (Turnbull, 150). They need to learn what crops will grow in their

environment year-round. These crops will need to have access to water, even if its minimal. There have

been times that the villages do have enough rain to promote growth to the crops. In these rare

situations, the Ik will need to know how to properly harvest and store their crops for use when the rains

and crops are not abundant.

Shelter: The Ik people are not accustom to living in a single location for a long period of time. Because

they were always following the food source before they were forced to settle, they would build

temporary shelters to live in during the short time they were in a specific area. These shelters were easy

to build and were erected quickly, but they were not built to last. They need to learn how to build

permanent housing and shelters that will withstand times of wind and rain. They need a shelter that will

help keep them warm during the cold nights and that will be able to keep the villagers dry when they

have rain. Additional shelters should also be built to store food.

Sanitation: As stated earlier, the Ik people use their main water source to drink, wash, defecate, and for

their animals as well (Turnbull, 79). They have no sanitation practices and do not see the need for

sanitation. Not only are they indifferent about washing their hands, or using the bathroom away from
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their drinking water, they also do not care if they are infected or diseased or if they spread this to others

(Turnbull, 218). They need to have a basic sanitation system, cannot openly defecate and must have a

designated area for their waste.

Education: Education is the most important need of the Ik people. Even in times of abundance, the Ik

did not understand how important it was to properly harvest or store the food for later consumption.

The Ik need to learn how disease and infection spread, and realize separating drinking water from waste

water will reduce illness and mortality. General health is not a consideration of the Ik people. Bila, one

of Atums daughters, had an infected breast that was dripping pus everywhere. No one, including Bila,

acknowledged that it needed to be tended to, or could get others sick because she was not covering it

(Turnbull, 218). The Icien people need to education on basic health and sanitation.
Most importantly, the Ik need to be able to work together to improve each of the areas listed in the

needs assessment. They cannot continue to betray and steal from each other and expect to survive. If

everyone works together and has the same common goals, there will be a much greater chance of

survival.

Section III: Development Plan:

The Ik are struggling with five of a humans basic needs in life: water, food, shelter, sanitation, and

education. Without meeting these needs the Ik will cease to exist.

Multiple water sources are essential, especially access to a clean water source. Clean water needs to be

located close to the villages, so all people have access to it, not just the young and healthy. With the

help of the Water Project and IDE (International Development Enterprises) the Ik people can make hand

dug wells with hand pumps to obtain drinking water (https://thewaterproject.org).

The IDE can also assist the Ike to build low cost water tanks or ponds to catch rainwater during the wet

season. The rainy season in North Uganda isnt very wet, but the few feet of rain they do have can be

stored in a pond or tank with a low cost cover to reduce evaporation (Polak 110). These storage tanks

along with the well and hand pump will help give them the water they need throughout the year.
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The Ik people are trying to farm, but crops are difficult to grow in a drought. If they have a constant

source of water, they can build a low cost drip irrigation system with the help of IDE (Polak, 111). This

system uses minimal water, but will give the crops the water they need to grow. With the help of the

United States Agency for International Development and United Nations World Food (USAID and WFP),

the Icien can also learn how to store their harvest when there is an abundance for later consumption.

These NGOs have developed new food storage technologies for developing countries improve access to

food for small farmers in Africa (http://humanitarian.mit.edu/post-harvest-storage-uganda).

The Icien people do not know how and do not have the resources to build well-made houses or shelters.

Within a few years the houses they have built are abandoned, destroyed and falling apart. The roofs are

infested with termites and other bugs (Turnbull, 104). Icien suffer during the cold nights and need to

huddle by the fire to try to stay warm (Turnbull, 264). They need aid to help them build permanent

homes and shelters. These homes should be large enough for their whole family to live which gives the

parents one less reason to abandon their children at age three. The shelters need to be built so when it

does rain, although it doesnt happen often, the water does not get into the homes. The houses should

protect the villagers from high winds and should be strong enough to stay erect without damage during

bad weather. The NGOs I found that specifically help sub-Saharan Africa with housing focused on

affordable loans for the villagers to build their houses and pay the organizations back. Because the Icien

people do not have any income, and are subsistence farmers I cant imagine that the World Bank of

Habitat for Humanity could help. Possibly USAID would be able to fund a housing project for the Ik

people without the requirement of being paid back.

Sanitation is a huge issue for the Icien people. They currently dont have any sanitation practices as part

of their livelihood. As previously noted, they openly defecate on each others doorsteps, as well as near

their drinking water. They do not have good hand washing or any washing practices, and their own

drinking water is used for animals as well. The Icien people need at a minimum a Community Led Total

Sanitation (CLTS) method. This is a practice that all villagers are educated to think of open defecation as
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disgusting and shameful. Local governments in the village attempt to prove to the villagers how

defecating in the open is unhealthy by offering villagers water with feces in it

(http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/8/28/rural-uganda-sanitation.html).
At the least, single pit latrines should be built for villagers to use. Education of the health ramifications

of not using the latrines will be essential in the success of changing the sanitation practices.
The Icien also need to know that there drinking water needs to be separated from all other water. Wells

with hand pumps installed close to Icien homes will replace their existing drinking water source which

will reduce contamination, and water tanks will be built to feed their low cost drip irrigation system to

water plants. Animals can use the existing watering hole to drink from. Keeping all of these areas

separate will reduce the risk of disease and infection from the Icien people.
Education: Education and awareness is the biggest objective to tackle to help the Ik people. In depth

education in all areas above need to be a major priority in order to achieve any long term success. Icien

could have access to clean drinking water, year-round crops with storage containers, bathroom facilities

away from where people eat and drink, and permanent shelter, but they have already proven that if they

do not have the proper education, it will not do any good.

When Colin Turnbull came back to the Ik tribe they had an abundance of food, but their behavior had

not changed. Every crop in every field was rotting and bug ridden (269). There was no effort or desire to

try to maintain the crops. The main reason for this was because the Icien people were receiving famine

relief. Regardless of their ability to grow crops, they did not want to waste the effort of farming if they

could get food for free. Because the Ik people did not show any initiative to try to tend to their crops,

help the old and the young, or store any excess food for the community, I do not think that direct giving

of additional famine relief would help them.

The Icien people need to understand it is far better to be self-sufficient year after year than to rely on

government funding aid that could be cutoff at any given time. Taking care of the crops and storage

typically is a womans duty and they are responsible for producing 60/70% of the food for their family. It

is imperative to empower and educate the woman and children on how to farm and store food

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_agriculture_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa).
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It has been noted if villages are forced to implement CLTS by fear, and without education on why its

important, it will fail. (http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/8/28/rural-uganda-sanitation.html).

In depth and long term education on the reduction of illness and disease due to good hand washing and

bathroom practices will be essential to make sure the Icien continue these standards after the assistance

has left.
People in the village need to be educated on basic first aid that could have reduced a lot of pain,

suffering, and death for several Icien.

Overall, the Ik people need to remember that if everyone in their village is healthy, more people can

contribute to the health and wellness of the village. Young children, even at three years old, can help

farm and harvest as well as the elders. The life expectancy of the Icien will increase with the resources

listed above and education needed to ensure the village has food and water year after year. Certain

villagers will be trained as medical assistants to help with injuries and illness instead of relying on a ritual

priest.
Hopefully after time and practice, the Icien people will have a new understanding of life, and can

remember how to love and care for each other as they once did.

Sources Cited:
Brennan, Mark. Gooding, Emily Post-harvest storage in Uganda MIT Humanitarian Response Lab
http://humanitarian.mit.edu/post-harvest-storage-uganda
Loewenberg, Sam, Unclogging Ugandas rural sanitation crisis Aljazeera America, 28 Aug. 2014

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/8/28/rural-uganda-sanitation.html
The Water Project: Uganda
https://thewaterproject.org/community/projects/uganda/bwola-village
Wikipedia: Woman and Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_agriculture_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa
Polak, Paul. Out of Poverty. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2008
Turnbull, Colin. The Mountain People. Simon and Schuster, 1972