Trevor Cole | People and Pastoralism in the Ilemi Triangle

People and Pastoralism
in the Ilemi triangle
(South Sudan and Ethiopia)
By Trevor Cole

Through his photography, internationally acclaimed photographer Trevor Cole explores the profound relationship between people, animals, and the landscapes they inhabit.

In Pastoral Peoples and Practices, he documents pastoral communities across the Ilemi Triangle—from Ethiopia and Central Equatoria to Northern Kenya—revealing traditions and ways of life deeply intertwined with livestock and the natural environment.

As climate change and increasing aridity transform these fragile landscapes, Cole’s photographs offer an intimate and powerful reflection on resilience, cultural heritage, and the enduring bond between people and their animals.

“My series, Pastoral Peoples and Practices, illustrates how many people are inextricably connected to their livestock and beasts of burden. The peoples of the Ilemi triangle (the Omo Valley of Ethiopia, Central and Eastern Equatoria, and Northern Kenya) are all pastoralists. Their bond with their livestock is inextricably connected to their environment, and their subsistence farming systems have a small ecological footprint. “
– Trevor Cole

This area is highly vulnerable to climate change, and drought has desiccated their environment. Cattle, sheep, and goats are their livelihood, and all their wealth depends on them. The animals are used in barter for guns, dowries for wives, blood for nutrition, milk as part of their daily diet, and occasionally they slaughter cattle for meat. The Mundari of Central Equatoria and the Kara of the Omo share many traits and traditions. They often practice transhumance, moving their herds in response to rains and fresh grazing. They often take blood from their cows, sometimes to mix with milk and sometimes to drink it from a calabash.
The Mundari gather the fresh dung each morning, dry it, and use it to fuel their fires. They then use the ash to massage their Ankole Watusi cows to protect them from bites from tsetse flies and mosquitoes. They also veneer themselves with ash for the same reasons; hence, they appear ghostly as they herd their cattle and fade into the nebulous haze of smoke generated by the fires.

“The Mundari of Central Equatoria and the Kara of the Omo share many traits and traditions. They often practice transhumance, moving their herds in response to rains and fresh grazing. They often take blood from their cows, sometimes to mix with milk and sometimes to drink it from a calabash. “
– Trevor Cole

The Kara keep their goats and sheep close to their villages, which in recent years have become very arid due to climate change and the damming of the Omo River, which they depended on for flood-recession cropping. When herded, goats create clouds of dust, which is atmospheric but also indicative of increasing desertification. Like the Hamar and Bashada, they practice the Bula, or bull jumping, which signifies a young man’s coming of age. An initiate has to prove his readiness for manhood by successfully jumping over rows of cattle six times in a row. Their connections with their animals are inimitable, as are their interactions with the environments in which they live.

Trevor Cole

“The Kara keep their goats and sheep close to their villages, which in recent years have become very arid due to climate change and the damming of the Omo River, which they depended on for flood-recession cropping.”
– Trevor Cole

Internationally acclaimed photographer and photo tour leader Trevor Cole is based in Donegal, Ireland. Born in Derry, he went on to teach geography at international schools in Singapore, Togo, Italy, Ethiopia, and Brazil, while traveling extensively with his camera. This journey naturally brought together two of his lifelong passions—geography and photography.

“My photography focuses predominantly on culture and landscapes; images reflecting a spatial and temporal journey through life, while striving to reflect the need to live in a more sustainable world. ​By seeking the moment and light in various contexts, we can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.”
– Trevor Cole

Cole’s photography focuses predominantly on culture and landscapes, creating images that reflect a spatial and temporal journey through life while highlighting the importance of moving towards a more sustainable world. Through his attentive approach to light, place, and fleeting moments, he seeks to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Cole leads photography tours in Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Ethiopia, Namibia, Chad, South Sudan, Eritrea, India, and beyond.
Working primarily with small groups, he aims to offer culturally sensitive immersion, photographic guidance, and a truly memorable photographic journey.

His photographic philosophy is rooted in an alternative vision of tomorrow—capturing unforgettable moments that encourage us to reflect upon the world around us and inspire us to become the change we wish to see in it.

Preserving communities such as the Kara is essential to safeguarding the extraordinary cultural knowledge, traditions, and ways of life that have evolved through generations in close relationship with their environment. As climate change, environmental pressures, and rapid social transformation increasingly affect these communities, protecting their cultural heritage also means respecting their connection to the land, animals, and traditions that define their identity. Photography plays an important role in this process, creating a visual record of cultures whose stories deserve to be seen, understood, and remembered.

Visit: www.alternativevisions.co.uk
Facebook: @AlternativeVisionsPhotography
Instagram: @trevcole

PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS:
independent-photo.com/photographer/trevor-cole