Machacos, Kenya (near Masaii land)

This beautiful eucalyptus, while just a simple tree, has caused huge economic and social problems here because it uses so much water. There are 100 year old ones planted all along this river, and now the river looks more like a little stream.

Eucalyptus was brought over by the British and it was also encouraged by foreign businessmen, who maybe didn't know or think about the long term effects.


A very nice guy we met in Machacos while I was filming by the river. Despite his English not being so good, he knows a lot about trees from doing construction, so we asked him to hang out with us all day and tell us what he knows.

Poor guy was totally excited, since his plan had been to look for a job. Jobs are very scarce here and it had been 3 years since he had a stable one. His family eats from the money his wife makes at the little kiosk selling milk, candy, and soda.

Even very educated people have a hard time finding work here. Because the job market is so tight, most jobs go to family members of the people employing them, despite someone's qualifications.



The scenery in Machachos is amazing. This used to be a 'desert', because it was converted into grazing land by the Masaii so the soil changed dramatically. Due to afforestation there has been a huge improvement.

In the background are farms, which build ditches after each terrace of crops to collect the soil sediments as they slide down during the rainy season. Trees are planted a long the ditches and the ditches allow the water to infiltrate. Considering they get very little rainfall here, these traditional methods are very important for keeping this land useable.