Economic Life and Industries Summary and Analysis

In "Economic Life", Kenyatta points out the primary occupations of the Gikuyu people are agricultural and livestock rearing. Work is divided equally between the sexes. In home building, cutting wood, building fences, watching over land, and putting up frames falls to the men, while carrying lumber, housework, and thatching are the work of women. In the fields, men clear the land and tend animals, while women prepare the soil and harvest, but the planting and weeding is done by both, as is brewing beer and trading. Children are also expected to help with preparing the soil and with tending smaller gardens. Gikuyu has four seasons, and crops are planted in the season that fits the growing time. Once the crops are five inches high, the families begin to weed the fields. In some cases, families...