Turkana County

Imagine a piece of metal, shaped by hand, worn around the wrist and made using skills passed from one generation to the next.

Now imagine that researchers take this object into a laboratory, examine its microscopic structure, test its hardness and analyze the elements within it what can modern science tell us about a traditional craft and what can that discovery teach us about africa's technological heritage welcome to afropedia today we travel to turkana county in northwestern kenya to explore the abarite a distinctive wrist-mounted blade used by the turkana people Its story brings together traditional blacksmithing, material science and the study of cultural heritage.

The Abarite is a circular or elliptical metal blade with a central opening that fits around the wrist.

The opening is lined with leather to make it more comfortable to wear, while the blade's outer edge is sharpened.

That is where a study published in November 2025 in Royal Society Open Science becomes particularly interesting.

Researchers Kate Parkinson and Parvez Alam investigated the material, geometry and mechanical characteristics of the Aborite, bringing established scientific techniques to the examination of a traditional Kenyan object.

So, what did the researchers actually do? They examined two Aborite blades obtained from a Turkana blacksmith in Kanamkemer village in Lodwa, Turkana County.

The study combined several techniques, including three-dimensional scanning, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and hardness testing.

Lamu is part of what we call the LAPSSET Corridor.

And you know Kenya has got, uh, reserves in South Lokichoggio in Turkana.

Mm.

So if in long term we're able to connect these, these, these fields, uh, with the refinery and also capitalize on the crude that is available in, uh, in Sudan and bring it all the way to Lamu and refine it, this will be a big, big, big, big boost to the energy situation in East and, and Central Africa.

So one, the East African countries must join in the project.

Two, we must also, as countries in East Africa, build up infrastructure around the refinery.

For example, I've mentioned we do have crude in South Lokichoggio in Turkana.

We should be able to see, is it possible? Not is it possible, we must connect this, uh, refine- uh, this, uh, area to the Lamu Refinery so that we can be able to pump crude from South Lokichoggio all the way to the refinery.