Paukwa? Pakawa!
Paukwa is a place dedicated to positive stories about Kenya. Our story house is named for the Swahili word that is an invitation to a story – Paukwa. It’s an age- old term, well known across East Africa. Paukwa invites one to remember the joy of stories from their childhood days and to get lost in new, familiar or unknown ideas about the daily things that surround us.
Each day ordinary Kenyans are pushing our nation forward. As volunteers, as SME owners, as creatives, teachers, farmers, counsellors, techwizards and more. There is a bigger story as they build our nation each day through their tenacity, hard work, positive attitude, search for excellence, and sheer hustle.
Through their efforts we all grow.
At Paukwa, we shine a spotlight on the everyday builders of our nation and the history we almost forgot.
This digital storybank celebrates memory, culture, modernity, but most of all, the positive. Dive in and discover a story of Kenya you didn’t know you never knew!
#StreetsOfMombasa
Mombasa. A city. An island. Did you know that there was once a time when Mombasa was the place several prominent people coveted? It was her strategic location by the Indian Ocean. Her meaningful relationship with the spice markets that made ships dock at her port every other week. Mombasa is her name today, but initially the Arabs said Manbasa. Her present name was given to her in 1502. Though her history
Paukwa? Pakawa!
Paukwa is a place dedicated to positive stories about Kenya. Our story house is named for the Swahili word that is an invitation to a story – Paukwa. It’s an age- old term, well known across East Africa. Paukwa invites one to remember the joy of stories from their childhood days and to get lost in new, familiar or unknown ideas about the daily things that surround us.
Each day ordinary Kenyans are pushing our nation forward. As volunteers, as SME owners, as creatives, teachers, farmers, counsellors, techwizards and more. There is a bigger story as they build our nation each day through their tenacity, hard work, positive attitude, search for excellence, and sheer hustle.
Through their efforts we all grow.
At Paukwa, we shine a spotlight on the everyday builders of our nation and the history we almost forgot.
This digital storybank celebrates memory, culture, modernity, but most of all, the positive. Dive in and discover a story of Kenya you didn’t know you never knew!
#Ke2019People
2019 has been a different year for each one of us, but we have made it to December, and that is something worth smiling about. Throughout the year, Kenya has made global headlines for a number of reasons – and as is our Paukwa mantra, we would like to focus on the exceptional feats some of our fellow Kenyans have achieved through their little hummingbird deeds. Welcome to
Remember the story of...
Abaluhya Death Rites
The Abaluhya community consists of 18 subtribes that speak different dialects of the Luhya language. The subtribes are: the Bukusu, the Tatsoni, the Kabarasi, the Tsotso, the Wanga, the Isukha, the Batura, the Nyole, and the Tiriki; the Tachoni, the Nyala, the Marachi, the Maragoli, the Khayo, the Kisa, the Masaaba, the Samia, and the Marama. Despite the dissimilarity in language, ceremonies and rituals practiced among all were similar. Funerals were respected occasions because the deceased was joining the ancestors. Burial rites lasted up to 40 days...
Our audio stories
A note from our team
THE SDGS AND YOU
Have you heard about the SDGs? The collective global goals that serve not just people but the planet? #OurGoalGetters story collection has stories of 17 incredible Kenyans working towards each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While preparing the collection, we were delighted to find countless Kenyans striving every day to build a sustainable future for the country. It is no doubt that Kenyans are working! From our forests to our seas, our schools, our institutions and even our homes, these Kenyans have taken the liberty of re-imagining the ways our world needs to change and then put their ideas to action. They are raising their voices, leveraging partnerships, bringing communities together and using every tool within their reach to ensure nothing less than the best for future generations. In discovering the expansive work being done right under our noses, we asked ourselves one question: “What is the everyday person’s role in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs?” We hope the insights inspire from this collection help you to take a second look at your surroundings and identify where you can support the realisation of these global goals.
TEAM PAUKWA
A note from our team
ON GRATITUDE
Allow us to take a moment of reflection. We are grateful for the journey of time, for the learnings we have experienced about our country as we have spent time in archives, in interviews, on bumpy roads crisscrossing the nation, in online rabbit holes in our quest to build stories of Kenya. We are incredibly grateful for the community of readers we have and all the feedback, thumbs up, questions and exclamations that you have shared. We have enjoyed spending time in new spaces bringing our story collections alive in forums, on panels, in festivals and in virtual settings. Through each of these endeavours we are continually sharpened by others, we have found our tribe of individuals and collectives as curious as we are about our history, and we are comforted and emboldened by the reminders that we are not alone on our quest and indeed – this work of narrative shaping, of history building, of spotlight shining is important. With reflection comes gratitude, introspection, and hope and so we thank you for being part of our Paukwa journey.
TEAM PAUKWA
Our newsletters
(swipe to scroll, tap to open newsletter)