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!
#KeStamps
If we turn back time by a few centuries, one of the first things that stands out is how different communication was from what it is today. Information was sent over long distances using smoke signals, drumbeats, and even town criers. It could take days or weeks for a message to reach the receiver. In contrast to present-day, emails, text messages, and multiple online platforms have made this process
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!
#KenyanLore
Superstitions, myths, and lore are not unique concepts. They are universal, deeply rooted in people's beliefs and ideas of morality, passed down through generations. These narratives have a profound impact on the way we see the world. Around the world, various cultures dedicate certain days to lean into the spooky and supernatural aspects of their narratives. We are doing the same, but in our own distinctive Kenyan way. In
Remember the story of...
Saikati
Films are more than just entertainment gimmicks. They are tools with which a filmmaker examines societal issues. They are a powerful medium of communication that can inspire action and incite change. In 1992, filmmaker Anne Mungai harnessed the power of this tool to bring attention to women’s rights in her feature film, Saikati. The story is set within Maasai land, and the character in focus is a young girl called...
Our audio stories
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
A note from our team
VALUE-BASED EDUCATION
One of the greatest joys of working at Paukwa is the energy that our team exudes and the enthusiasm we have to tell the stories of Kenya creatively. In February 2020 we embarked on a new journey – to create content for children. These are stories of ordinary Kenyans who have chosen to live their lives with purpose, are doing their best with what they have, or striving each day to give back to their communities in myriad ways. Our value-based education initiative gave us the opportunity to bring these stories to life through the Hummingbird Tales animated series and accompanying guidebooks. Each Kenyan child sitting at home or school can learn the values that promote our collective wellbeing and citizenry. So, take some time today or this week to share a screen (whether big or small) with a child or children and enjoy with them stories of Kenyans showing up and building the 254.
TEAM PAUKWA
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