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!
#KePoems
At Paukwa, we believe that words have inimitable power. They plant seeds of hope, and affirm our deepest griefs; they help us discover places in ourselves we didn’t know were there. Our next story collection will celebrate all the wonderful ways that Kenyan poetry has evoked these and more. We’ve named it #KePoems, and we aim to pay homage to works that have been carefully crafted by masterful Kenyan
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!
#MitaaYetu
Our childhood experiences make up an important part of our core memories. Very often these experiences are shaped by where we grew up. In our adult life, we remember these places as much as we remember the activities we took part in and the people we spent time with. Our earliest identities and sense of community are tied to these neighbourhoods. We never forget where we came from, which
Remember the story of...
From One Coin and Currency to Another
Before the Maria Theresa Thaler’s minting in Austria, Lydians, Chinese and ancient Indians were the earliest issuers of coins in the world. India’s first coins were minted in the 6th century by the republic kingdoms of ancient India. The coins, originally irregularly shaped, took on various changes over the years – both in appearance as well as names. The defining moment in this evolution was when ruler Sher Shah Suri...
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
LOVE AND IMPACT
Love and impact drive us as human beings. These themes are evident in the #KeExcellence s and #KeInnovators stories that celebrate Kenyans whose accomplishments have been recognized and awarded on global stages. Through these stories, we’ve learned a couple of things. The first is that it’s never too late to reset and restart. Passion was another factor that stood out across all the stories. It set them apart from their contemporaries and the result? International recognition. If this isn’t an ode to the saying, ‘You can do anything you set your mind to.’ So, as we continue taking strides through life, let’s be inspired to be the best at what we’re doing – whether it’s chasing dreams or pursuing ventures we are passionate about. Just remember to always do it with a smile.
TEAM PAUKWA
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