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!
#BomaZetu
The term ‘boma’ is a traditional word used to refer to traditional community enclosures or homesteads. In past times, the structure of a boma said a lot about a community and even a family in the context of wealth. Large bomas were a display of a man’s wealth, and depending on the community, had huts and homes that belonged to his wives, his mother, his sons, and even guests
Remember the story of...
Kenyan Colour Theories
In the Westernised world, it is widely accepted that a bride should wear white as she walks down the aisle – a symbol of new beginnings and an unexpected trend started by the British Queen Victoria in 1840. Many people still feel a shiver of fear down their spine when they walk past a black feline as it is assumed that they are harbingers of bad luck, and they also...
Our audio stories
A note from our team
JOURNALISM AS SERVICE
If you were to look up the purpose of journalism, you would probably find something along the lines of empowering citizens with the information they need to make the best possible choices in their everyday lives, and for their communities and government. In our #MagazetiYetu and #KePhotographers collection,s what strikes a chord is the sacrifices that journalists throughout our history have made to give us the power of decision-making. When we take a closer look at our media history, it is clear that these professionals went far beyond the call of duty to secure the credibility of information reaching the public. And for this sacrifice, we can’t help but label these journalists the epitome of servants. These heroes have stood for truth, democracy and our nation time and time again – even to their own detriment. Be emboldened by the figures who remained uncompromising in their values. May we stand on their shoulders.
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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