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!
#KeReads
There is nothing we love more than a well told story. At Paukwa we are enamored by the power stories have to shape our aspirations, take us to new worlds, open up unexpected realities or simply enable us to disappear from our daily lives. Stories build us, give us hope and spark our imagination. The 23rd of April is #WorldBookDay and in honour of all the writers that help us
Remember the story of...
Remember the story of...
Construction of the Railway from Konza to Magadi
In 1902, European financiers from London and South Africa registered a company called the East Africa Syndicate (EAS) with the intention of acquiring mining rights in British East Africa. In a letter to the Foreign Office, the company requested exclusive rights to prospect for gold and other minerals on an unspecified 500 square miles (320,000 acres). The proposal also stated that an agreement would be reached with representative African chiefs,...
Our audio stories
A note from our team
CULTURE AND HERITAGE
One of our favourite things about writing stories at Paukwa is that there’s always something new to learn about Kenya. Sometimes it's through retelling the narratives that we have come to accept, and other times it's just about appreciating the people and the places that make us proud. We’re constantly challenging the norms and asking ourselves how we can celebrate different facets of Kenyan history and culture. Through our #OnlyInKenya story series, we learnt that one of the reasons that Kenyan communities told stories was to explain the unexplainable. Take the Crying Stone for instance, Ikhongo Murwi. The Luhya community has a story that explains why it cries from time to time. Creativity at its best, we’d say. And that’s just one of many incredible stories from Western Kenya. There are more of those in Paukwa’s repository which have been specially curated to spotlight trailblazers, hidden gems, and creations that hail from this region.
TEAM PAUKWA
A note from our team
RETHINKING TOURISM
Wanderlust is reigniting within us the quenchless desire to travel, explore, and revel in the glorious outdoors. As we welcome the change in seasons and the appetite for adventure, we are invited to pause and think about the impact of our travels on Mother Nature. Across our website you will find stories that highlight one-of-a-kind locations in Kenya like #KePlaces, #VisiwaVyetu and #KeHeritageSites. Places that are vibrant not just for their beautiful natural scenery but also for the spellbinding stories of the people, cultures, and landscapes. We hope this inspires you to enjoy sustainable tourism on your next trip. After all, each of us plays a crucial role in the preservation of these places for posterity.
TEAM PAUKWA
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