Arumurums , despite their clear disadvantages, are perhaps less a degradation of the traditional pastoral land use system than they are an innovation. Ultimately, the Turkana need the liberty to make their own decisions, as well as the self-determination to realize their own ideas of human and natural resource development apart from what is prescribed or reasoned to best for them by outside policy makers, legislators, researchers, and charitable and other non governmental organisations. Norokos , poverty, preventable disease, and drought complicate the ability of many pastoralists to make decisions independent of outside assistance. Beyond agony and anecdote Standing before a map made to illustrate the current wet season, a group of elder women in Loperot location in south Turkana responded forcefully when asked to explain different features on the map. Two parallel lines consisting of sticks and leaves represent the Kalapata River, the women motion.
Sticks are trees and leaves are grass.
Rocks piled to represent a nearby mountain, Lokone, are dressed with more leaves. Here the animals are taken to graze, the women add. Beyond the concentration of sticks, leaves, and palm fronds along rivers and on mountains, the remaining areas of the map are littered with pieces of carefully placed twigs and other greenery. During the akiporo , grazing resources can be found everywhere, including the typically arid plains, they say. Now asked how the map would look different if it were made for the akamu , several women quickly clear the area of the map representing the plains of all vegetation and sticks.