THE STANDARD By
James Omoro |
April 5th 2021 at 00:27:46 GMT +0300
Flamingoes wade in Lake Simbi Nyaima, Homa Bay County. [James Omoro, Standard]
For a long time, residents of Karachuonyo in Homa Bay County have been depending on Lake Simbi Nyaima for their livelihood.
The name was generated from Simbi, which is the name of the village where the lake is, while Nyaima is a Dholuo term that refers to something that is sinking and being covered by water.
Residents used to collect a mineral locally referred to as
bala from the lake.
Bala is a mineral that exists in the form of brown soil with nutritional content similar to that of lime. It is used for cooking vegetables, soda ash and sometimes used in place of salt. It is also used for feeding livestock.