Litare Fishing Village
Litare fishing village is one of the many fishing villages on lake Victoria. Litare Fishing Village is located in Mbita off Rusinga Island. The fishing village is accessible via boat and besides it being a fishing village, it a small commercial hub with an open-air market, shops and other household items.
The village economy is primarily based on fishing, as majority of the population is engaged in activities related to fishing including; boat repairing, net repairing, fish cleaning, fish peeling and selling at local level. Almost every household owns one or two small boats or work on others boats.
Our guide Suleiman narrated that before the human settlement, the fishermen used this area for drying of their fish catch. He elaborated that the houses on Litare Fishing Village are rental and during different fishing seasons, fishermen usually migrate to different fishing villages and settle there on temporary basis.
The fishermen routinely fish at night for about 8 to 12 hours using lanterns that attract flies that get burnt and caught on the fishing nets. The fish in turn surround the net hoping to eat the flies and get caught in the net.
The fishermen go in search of the legendary Nile Perch or Tilapia which are renowned to make delicious meals whether grilled, baked, smoked or fried; and also small fish that include; Fulu (Luo) or Cichlid (English); Omena (Luo) or Sardine (English), and Kapenga.
According to our guide, the wood used to make the fishing boats is imported from Tanzania; they primarily make the boats from two types of hardwood; Mvuli or Mahogany.
The ladies come to the lake shore to buy fish from the fishermen at dawn and dry the fish during the day. After drying, the fish is taken to Rusinga and later to other cities for resale and consumption.
There are plenty of kites, egrets and herons foraging for food on Litare Island during the day; and in the evening they roost at Birds Island.
Contact us via info@beadsafariscollection.co.ke for tours to fishing villages located within Lake Victoria and learn the art of fishing, the culture of the people and the fishing trade.