• Black-bellied winged termites emerge from the ground when it rains. And people eagerly trap them, fry them and sell them for snacks.
•Hotels sell them as a side-dish, hawkers sell them, everybody is getting into the insect craze
The sky is grey and it looks like rain. All along Runyenjes Ugwri road are small stalls made of sticks and covered with torn blankets and banana leaves.
Owners are e selling the unlikely but nutritious bounty that comes with the rains — black-bellied, winged termites, an Embu delicacy. They are the first food that comes as soon as the rains fall.
They sell like hotcakes.
"Rains come with instant food. We don't have to farm or feed it, just trap the termites, it's easy," Dickson Gichovi says.
Rainfall pushes the termites up out of the ground to the surface where locals wait and trap the fluttering dish insects.
"When the soldier termites come out, we use banana leaves and small sticks to make small tent-traps around the holes they come out through," he said. The traps have to be inside ark because they don't like the light.
Farmer Alex Mugendi, 43, says he has always seen residents trap termites when it rains.
"The rains fall when our food stocks are almost depleted and almost all we have left are seeds. The termites are like instant tea," he said.
Thunderstorms are needed to make the termites come out in large numbers. If there are no thunderstorms, harvesters beat the ground with sticks to drive the insects above ground.
A popular hotel in Runyenjes town sells the fried delicacies for Sh70 a plate. They are usually served as a side-dish. Sometimes they are sold by the glass.
The rains fall when our food stocks are almost depleted and almost all we have left are seeds. The termites are like instant teaFarmer Alex Mugundi
The hotel owner said she had seen youths hawking the fried snacks and decided to add them to her menu.
"I observed how the youth made in sales, people in the market used to buy and devour the termites with so much excitement. I saw a business opportunity," she said.
To make the fried, salted termites more appetising he serves them on a banana leaf.
" It's natural and customers are enjoying the termites on banana leaves, even ladies and teachers like them on the leaves," she added.
Sospeter Njeru said there's good business to be done if they knew how to farm and mass produce the termites.
Hawkers make hundreds of shillings daily selling termites.
Joseph Nthiga, a youth from Gikuuri village, said he is earning more than Sh500 a day hawking the termites from Gikuuri shopping centre to Runyenjes town.
"Elderly women are my frequent customers, they even call me for orders and it's a booming business," Nthiga said.
Nthiga said that he roams around Runyenjes constituency that is rich in termites.
"I walk from place to place in search of the insects. Once I identify the right spot, I ask permission from the landowner and build a trip," he said.
At the entrance and exit of Runyenjes bus park there men are selling is a group of men selling the termites to those travelling to different places.
"I never thought anyone would buy termites until when I read somewhere that termites are a delicacy. We tried it and we're making money, John Ndereva said.
Teachers Cathlyn Wanja and Bessy Wawira, both teachers said that they have been eating termites since they were young.
Teacher Wanja said that they are natural and have no side effects since they are not contaminated by chemicals.
"They are good and easy to make, you just fry them and you are good to go, my children like them with rice and ugali," she said.