Economic change in Bunyore - Kenya, 1902 - 1963

Abstract

The onset of colonialism in Bunyore began in 1902 when the whole of Western Kenya, including the area occupied by the Abanyole, was separated from Uganda and became part of the British East Africa Protectorate under British colonial rule. The British colonial administration affected pre-colonial Bunyore society in many ways. This study focuses on the economic changes that took place in Bunyore between 1902 and 1963, highlighting the effects of these changes. The Bunyore economy was traditionally one of subsistence aimed at meeting the needs of the people. The Abanyole cultivated crops like sorghum (amabe/e), finger millet (abu/e) and bananas (amakamia) among others. They used simple wooden tools, and later on iron tools, in their agricultural pursuits. Shifting cultivation .was commonly practiced whereby when a field could no longer produce high yields it was left to lie fallow for a given period of time and virgin land opened to cultivation. The colonial period had far-reaching effects on the pre-colonial Bunyore economy. Colonial rule subjected the Abanyole to many new forces working towards change. New crops were introduced and new methods of farming and agricultural techniques introduced into the economy of the Abanyole. The crops that were introduced included, among others, various varieties of maize, beans, peas, ground nuts, cassava, and coffee. New varieties of trees that would mature faster like the Eucalyptus were also introduced. New foreign fruit trees, like oranges, lemons, guavas, mangoes and papayas were also introduced. In.stead of the locally produced tools, better farming tools and OXploughs were introduced to make clearing of fields, ploughing, planting, -.. weeding and harvesting much faster. As the population increased, shifting cultivation could no longer be practiced and better farming methods that would help conserve the soil were introduced. This included mixed farming, crop rotation, contour ploughing, the use of farmyard manure and other soil conserving farm practices like terracing, planting of grass in strips, afforestation programmes, consolidation and enclosing of farms. Trade that had initially operated locally as barter trade during times of need now became more regular. Money became the accepted mode of exchange because it was cumbersome trading strictly by barter. Barter trade, however, continued alongside trade in money. The money economy had been ushered in. In addition to changes that took place in agriculture and trade, colonial rule introduced measures which worked to diversify and transform the economy of the Abanyole in the areas of labour, taxation, technology, land use, communication and population among others. As well as being the product and consequence of colonial policies, the modernization process that accompanied and promoted these changes was influenced by the introduction of formal education by missionaries and the colonial government. By 1963, the Bunyore economy had changed and had been substantially transformed and integrated into the national and world economy.