Relevant Socio-Economic Literature In Lower Embu, February, 1995 (Dryland Applied Research and Extension Project KARI/KEFRI/NRI).

Abstract

Lower Embu is inhabited by the people called the Mbeere. The Mbeere like the Meru, the Kamba, the Kikuyu and the Embu are Bantus by origin. Written history shows that the bantu's originated from Cameroon in West Africa before the year 1000. They arrived in Kenya in two main groups. The first group passed through Tanzania and on reaching Mt. Kilimanj aro, they started moving' northwards in Kenya where they later dispersed in different directions forming some of the bantu communities in Kenya. Some historians argue that some Mbeere people reached their present areas through that migration movement. The second group passed through Tanzania, then the Kenyan coast (Mombasa). From the coast, they migrated northward towards Mt. Kenya . After reaching Mt. Kenya they dispersed in different directions in search of land forming some of the 'bantu communities around'Mt.Kenya such as the Kikuyu, the Meru,the Embu the Mbeere and the Kamba.