Kenya cultural tour, family ties

Planet

The Kikuyu grandmas who you will meet have all installed biogas systems. You will also see how their biogas systems provide fuel for them, and how it protects the environment. The bio-gas systems eliminate the pollution of ground water supplies. You can ask the grandmas about the fact that they do not have to forage for firewood each day and see their reaction. That activity can take up to 6 hours a day.

And the biogas is also another income earner for grandmas. The organic fertilizer is sold by the grandmas to other local farmers who recognize its value.
You will be able to see the difference between plots of land using organic as opposed to chemical fertilizers.

At the same time, the land that your Maasai hosts resides in have been severely impacted by loss of forests and wildlife habitat. You will see also how the land is being rescued back by the Maasai with new land practices such as planting new ground covers and trees. And you will get a sense of the knowledge of the Maasai with their use of herbs and plants in everyday life. It’s the ultimate eco tour from your hosts who have generations of learning.

People

Your hosts on this trip are the community members that have been part of a sustainable project to help them step away from generational poverty. You will meet Kikuyu grandmas Helen, Beatrice, Mary and Rosemary who have become pig farmers with the program. And you will meet them in their homes and hear their stories. You can ask them about life as a grandma in the village and how life has changed for them over the last 4 years.

The grandmas have also been inducted as tour guides and they earn an income hosting guests. And they will show around their piggeries. Each piggery produces over 400 new piglets each year, which also help them earn an income. You can also help the grandmas prepare a lunch of vegetables and help the grandmas pick the vegetables from their small plots (shambas). And you will see how the biogas works when you use it to cook the vegetables. Don’t forget to bring your singing voice as the grandmas give a rendition of Kikuyu songs and dances as lunch is being cooked.

When you meet your Maasai hosts it will be like meeting old friends. Your Maasai hosts, Daniel (the village elder), Rispa his wife and son Risa are engaging and will want to know as much about you as you may want to know about them. You will be taken into their manyatta (a traditional mud home) and they will explain to you about family life in a Maasai village. Your hosts are also involved in sustainable projects that have seen them inducted as tour guides. And they are paid for hosting guests. It’s like sitting down with your neighbor over a up of tea or coffee and catching up with all the local news. And you can ask any question you like about their life, their family structure and how things are changing. Why, for example, does Daniel only have 1 wife, when his father has 6? And what is it like when you have over 50 brothers and sisters?