For many Somalis, the camel is a gift from nature, source of milk, meat and hide, a beast of burden in the desert and insurance in times of crisis.
It is also used in agricultural work.
The camel is celebrated in songs and folklore as a symbol of status and prosperity and exchange in marriages, religious events, burials, conflict resolution and beauty shows.
Camels are important to Somali culture because one is considered wealthy or can rise in social status by the number of animals he has.
According to Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, Kenya has approximately 3,338,757 camels, having the fourth largest camel population in the world after Chad, Somalia and Sudan.
Nationwide, Mandera leads with 1,016,970 followed by Turkana at 832,462 and Wajir, 533,651.
Kenya is the second largest producer of camel milk in the world after Somalia, having produced 876,224 tonnes of milk in 2017, according to Food and Agricultural Organization.
According Livestock and Agriculture executive Yusuf Abdi Gedi, camel milk and meat are good source of nutrients, especially in the arid and urban areas of Wajir county.
“Camel milk has low cholesterol, high minerals (sodium, potassium, iron, copper, zinc and magnesium) and high vitamin C when compared to other ruminant milk," Gedi says.
Dr Antony Ngugi, principal of Livestock Training Institute at Griftu in Wajir, says that the medicinal properties of camel milk can be attributed to the presence of protective proteins.
The proteins may possibly play a pivotal role for the enhancement of immune defence mechanism.
Apart from camel milk, Dr Ngugi says that camel meat is also a functional food for cures and remedy for many ailments such as seasonal fever, sciatica, shoulder pain and asthma.
Camels produce more milk of high nutritional quality and for a longer period of time than other species in an environment that may be rightly termed as hostile in terms of extreme temperature, drought and lack of pasture.
In 2016, a study reviewed the medicinal values of camel milk by focusing on its chemical composition which reveals that camel’s milk has generally an opaque white colour and has a faint sweetish odour and sharp taste.
The values of trace minerals were also significantly higher in camel milk as compared to cow milk. The concentration of vitamin C in camel milk is two to three times higher as compared to cow’s milk.
Julius Mwangi, a livestock production officer, says that camel meat is healthier because the carcass contains less fat and has lower levels of cholesterol.
“This is an important factor in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is related to saturated fat consumption," Mwangi says.
"Camel meat is also used for remedial purposes for diseases such as hyperacidity, hypertension, pneumonia and respiratory disease."
On the other hand, camel meat varies in composition according to breed type, age, sex, body condition and site of the carcass.
Water content differs only slightly between species, while differences in the fat content are more marked.
Camel meat contains 70 to 77 per cent moisture. It is also a good source of protein containing about 20 to 23 per cent.
Also, like other red meats, it contains high levels of potassium followed by phosphorus, sodium, magnesium and calcium, plus smaller percentages of other trace elements.
Calcium content of camel meat is higher than that of beef which may partly explain the tight structure of some cuts of camel meat.
Several epidemiological studies linked health problems such as obesity and high saturated fat and cholesterol intake to increased consumption of animal products.
This has led to concern that total dietary fat intake should be restricted by consuming smaller portions less frequently or replacing red meat consumption with white meat.
“The growing evidence of low cholesterol and fat content in camel meat could potentially support its healthiness as a better alternative to the high fat and cholesterol meats such as mutton and beef,” Mwangi says.
(edited by Amol Awuor)