Kiek okara

“Does your milk have a smell?” the casual question my host mother posed to me this morning over breakfast. I, bewildered, replied that there wasn’t one I could detect. She and my host father then went on to expand upon the numerous numbers of smells that milk could and did have this time of year due to the things that the cows were eating in the desert. The prime offender was a plant called kiek okara. This is the third time I have heard the name of this desert dwelling plant.
The first time was several months ago at our mid service conference. The setting was very different. We were gathered listening to a panel of NGO’s in Turkmenistan. All of these NGO’s were based in Ashgabat. One of the NGO’s was a group called Kiek Okara – a word I had never heard before and wasn’t sure was Turkmen. I didn’t question the name at that time. The NGO focused on domestic violence support and prevention. It sounded like a great and unfortunately necessary group, however, as with the majority of the NGO’s we heard from that day had absolutely no programs or support outside of the capital.
The second time was during a trip that I took to the desert with my parents, sister, and host father. We parked near a well that was used by livestock wandering the desert and started wandering ourselves. My host father picked up a long dry round piece of wood and started to tell us about all of the medicinal properties for this particular plant. He also talked about how the plant stored water in the top and how it was shaped like a bowl and that the livestock would use it to drink from as they were wandering. Also the leaves from keik okara store large amounts of water and are therefore very nutritious.
From the very first time I learned about the desert, probably in 2nd grade, I knew that desert plants and animals had to adapt to their environment. This plant whenever I’ve seen it, living or a stump from the previous year, looks completely out of place. The grown version looks like a mini-palm tree in the desert. The fact that this NGO started to support women who are victims of domestic abuse used this totally out of place looking plant with healing powers, huge reserves of strength in the form of the water it stores in a very dry place, and an uncanny ability to adapt as their inspiration is something I found awe-inspiring and wanted to share with you.