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!
#WakulimaWetu
What images come to mind when you think of farming? Maybe it’s meticulous green rows of vegetation or a jembe held high above the head before crashing down into the earth. Or perhaps your idea of farming has more to do with rearing livestock than tilling the land. Whatever your mind’s eye projects, it is no doubt that agriculture is the backbone of the Kenyan economy. With such a
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!
#MisemoYetu
Communication is a key part of our daily lives. Though when you think about how communication happens in Kenya, some phrases can only best be understood by us alone. These phrases consist of the way we begin conversations, the way we respond to queries, the way we summarize situations, and even the way we explain otherwise complex scenarios. If this says anything about Kenyans, it’s that we are unique
Remember the story of...
You Again
Sophia (Mimi Mars) is a young, determined journalist. Following the collapse of the company she dedicated five years of her working life to, she eventually lands a job as a news anchor at a newly launched TV station. This much-needed fresh start comes with a catch. Then there’s Kingsley (Nick Mutuma). He has not had a job for the past three years, despite having a Master's degree. His days spent...
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
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
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