When I met CJ (also known as Dr C Jones), it was a stream of foodie chat from the get go. We talked about cheese, but then we talked about milk, and Red Maasai sheep, and what an incredible breed of animal they are. Designed for the arid lands, and well matched to the nomadic Maasai, these sheep looked as healthy and fat as any when we visited in the third year of a drought.
When she makes her cheese, CJ uses a combination of goat and sheep milk to obtain the result she wants – the sheep’s milk comes with a little extra milk solids and fat (especially during a drought) and adds a creaminess that isn’t typically found in goat’s cheese. The sheep and goats are penned up at night, to avoid them becoming a canapé or evening dinner for resident leopard, and during the day they are taken out by herders and forage all over a 700 acre area. The goats are a mix of Toggenburg, Galla, Nubian and Saanen, all of them hardy and good milk producers.
About
VAST is about understanding and appreciating proper food, learning its story and respecting its quality.
Using local produce, VAST aims to celebrate traditional breeds and species in Kenya’s north country using ancient culinary techniques from around the world. With the largest herd of Pure Masai Red sheep in the world, a few Toggenburg goats and a small herd of Jersey cows, all of whom are free range and grass-fed, VAST has also cultivated an organic farm that grows a rich array of fruit and vegetables, each with a background of their own.
VAST also supports local communities by incorporating their produce into the value chain, while encouraging robust and responsible farming and animal husbandry practices.
