Learn Swahili in 30 Minutes Learn Swahili in 30 minutes? Probably not. But you can learn enough to greet people, order coffee, bargain at a market and find the toilet—which, under certain circumstances, feels remarkably close to fluency. If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I…

Kenyan Roses — Romance with Jet Lag Kenyan Roses are among the fastest travellers in the flower world. One day they’re growing under the African sun beside Lake Naivasha. Just a few days later, they’re brightening homes across Europe. It’s a remarkable journey that begins…

Heroes, Freedom and a Great Many Flags Why Kenya celebrates Mashujaa Day and Jamhuri Day — and why they are not quite the same celebrationKenya’s national days tell the story of a country that did not become independent in a single moment. Madaraka Day, Mashujaa…

History/Historie (danish version further down) Kenya Before It Was Kenya Kenya history didn’t begin in 1963. It began long before anyone had invented Kenya, passports or border posts—and the journey from Turkana Boy to independence is considerably more complicated than a date in a history…

The Secret Language of the Kanga A kanga is not simply a colourful piece of cloth. Along the Swahili coast, it can be fashion, poetry, advice, a love letter—or a remarkably elegant way of telling your neighbour exactly what you think without saying a word…

Fort Jesus and Old Town in Mombasa Fort Jesus and Old Town are where Mombasa’s history refuses to stay quietly in a museum. Expect Portuguese cannons, carved Swahili doors, spices, donkeys and enough stories to fill several very narrow streets. Where cannons, spices, donkeys and…

“Why a European Designer Would Lose His Mind in East Africa – and What He Might Actually Learn” Design in East Africa can be quite a shock to European eyes. Colours shout, typography makes its own rules, matatus become rolling art galleries—and somewhere along the…

Kenyan Coffee – The Bean That Leaves the Country Before Kenyans Get a Chance to Drink It Kenyan coffee has quite a journey ahead of it. Grown in the highlands, picked by hand, washed, graded, loudly slurped by professionals and eventually shipped around the world—often…

The Baobab Tree – Africa’s Upside-Down Giant Medicine, myths, bats and a tree that has heard almost everything The baobab tree in Kenya is difficult to ignore. It looks as if somebody planted it upside down, forgot to correct the mistake, and then waited a…

Akamba Handicraft – Where Wood Speaks, Hands Create, and Humour Lives Akamba Handicraft is where blocks of wood slowly become elephants, giraffes, masks and occasionally animals with considerably more personality than expected. Step inside a Kenyan cooperative where craftsmanship, tradition and humour have been working…

The Story of Swahili Architecture Swahili architecture history stretches across roughly 1,000 years of life on the East African coast. Coral stone houses, shaded courtyards, carved doors, mosques and merchant towns all tell the story of a culture shaped by climate, trade, faith and the…