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!
#HistoryOfBanking
Money in Kenya changed significantly over the years in the colonial era. And with these changes came the establishment of financial institutions that would accept monetary deposits and create a demand deposits. It’s no doubt that the first banks were set up to accommodate members of the colonial administration and European settlers, but as money became a commodity, more financial institutions came to be – a sign that there
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!
#KeDiaspora
As Kenyans, we take pride in our flag, our area code, but more importantly, in the fact that, when we resolve to work hard – we bear much fruit. There are Kenyans living beyond our borders who have chosen to make the most of their time in different organizations, and industries, around the world. Their time away from home has not been in vain; they have soared to
Remember the story of...
Agikuyu Initiation Ceremony
According to Agikuyu mythology, the first man and woman – Gikuyu and Mumbi - had nine daughters who became the mothers of the nine Kikuyu clans that bear their names. There has been some speculation that there was a tenth clan, Thagicu, who are thought to be the first Agikuyu ‘clan’ to borrow male circumcision from the Cushites. Before then, this rite did not feature in proto-Kikuyu life. But this...
Our audio stories
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
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
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