Any mention of northern Kenya immediately brings to mind images of constant fighting, cattle raids and starvation. Bordering lawless Somalia and former war-torn Sudan, the region has seen few days of peace in the last 10 years. It is a region where the bloody cattle rustling persistently trounces any attempts at peace and reconciliation.

Indigenous herders occupy dwindling grazing lands that are best suited for livestock production, but suffering periodic drought. Their way of life has mostly been portrayed as backward and warlike.