Dundori: The little-known outpost that feeds Nakuru

Dundori Township is a rural outpost located almost 25km to the east of Nakuru Town. It straddles part of central and Rift Valley regions and is in Milangine in Nyandarua County.

It is part of a known food basket that feeds the larger Nakuru Town with fresh farm products, particularly milk, cabbage, onions, cow peas and green maize, among others.

Being an agricultural outpost, it has provided employment opportunities for many as most of these products are ferried to Nakuru’s Wakulima market on bicycles, motorbikes and lorries.

To a casual observer, this township is devoid of an urban master plan as shacks and modern business buildings stands side by side, angling for customers.

Interestingly, the peasantry who comprise the bulk of residents here can be seen in this township centre in muddied gumboots and dirty overcoats even in the middle of a sweltering day.

Owing to its elevation, the place can be cold even on a bright sunny day as icy winds from the mountainous surroundings can make the not well-acclimatised ones to put on extra piece of clothing.

NATURAL AQUIFER

Rivers flowing downwards like the Mbaruku and Wanyororo owe their sources from Dundori’s mountainous regions.
The high water table makes the place a natural aquifer, with many rivulets hardly drying up like perennial springs.

Some rural homesteads spot boreholes in their backyards with pulley systems or manual hauling of water with metal buckets as a means of drawing water up.

Some wealthy villagers have installed windmills, which have made it easier to pump water to the comforts of their houses.

Despite its agricultural prominence, there are no commercial bank branches to be seen here except their appointed agents. This has helped save many the rigour of travelling all the way to Nakuru Town for financial transactions.

On a sad note, many farmers have been exploited by middlemen who buy their products for a song and then resell the same exorbitantly.
A litre of milk can be bought for anything like Sh40 and resold at Sh60 in Nakuru Town.

But with companies like Brookside undertaking to buy milk directly from the farmers, many a peasants’ battered faces have found a reason to smile.
Whenever it rains heavily, some roads are simply impassable quagmires many avoids.

However, major roads linking the township to the outside world have been tarmacked.

Dundori formed part of Muthoni Garland’s novel titled Halfway Between Dondori and Nairobi.