Many might know nominated MP David Ole Sankok as a vocal legislator representing people with disabilities, but many do not know him as the owner and director of the Organization for the Survival of Indigenous Maasai (OSIM) country lodge in Naiposho, on the way to Maasai Mara.
Speaking exclusively to Kenyans.co.ke on Friday, November 22, the vocal legislator narrated that immediately after he had completed his studies in college, he made the decision that he was not going to wait to be employed.
"When I graduated, I decided I would not work in the government or any other firm due to my disability. I knew I would age faster than everyone because all my body weight is supported by one leg, so I wanted to take care of myself better by writing my own rules," Sankok revealed.
He narrated that after his studies, he sublet a house with a shopkeeper who would sell during the day while Sankok would sleep in during the night acting as a watchman while he searched for a way forward.
The legislator then embarked on a career in carpentry and soon started buying off dying animals from the Maasai pastoralists which he would then fatten and sell when they were in better shape.
"We had a store that was full of maize germ and ground cobs, so we started buying cows that could not even stand on their feet at Ksh500, fatten them and then sell them later at close to Ksh20,000. The rainy season would make work with livestock easier due to the abundance of communal land in his Maasai community," he narrated
Coupled with his job as a carpenter, Sankok soon bought off a piece of 50 ft by 100 ft land parcel that was strategically located with a view to constructing the restaurant that he had always dreamed of.
"The need to expand came, and I faced one problem. The place where the restaurant stood was full of plots of the same size, so I convinced the residents that I was set on building a mortuary and they left in a huff. I then bought 28 pieces of land at a very cheap cost and built a two-roomed structure and started off with roast meat," he cheekily revealed.
Today, OSIM charges residents Ksh5,000 per night with breakfast included while foreigners part with an upwards of Ksh50,000 to spend a night in the almost-always booked facility.
The politician revealed that in the restaurant, there is no refrigerator and no chemicals are used in the preparation of food since his original intention was to construct a restaurant that people would come to detoxify.
"When we bring in sheep for the slaughter, we keep them in a shed for three straight months to ensure that there are no chemicals left in the animal's body. We do not use pesticides for our farms. We have planted pyrethrum around to help in pest control instead.
