A Diary of Cheesemaking with a Tribe of Ugandan Warriors

December 2002 saw the first of several journeys I made to a remote corner of northeastern Uganda to work alongside a veterinarian friend stationed among the nomadic Karamojong people. While there, I was asked if I could teach basic cheesemaking to this community of itinerant cattle keepers, in the hope that they might preserve some of their precious milk supply for lean times. The project was a great adventure for all of us. I had never made cheese outdoors without tools in sweltering equatorial heat; the Karamojong had never even tasted cheese, let alone created it. Talk about a cultural exchange . . .

Written and Photographed by Kate Arding