It is almost impossible to imagine that a traditional village can exist amidst Nairobi’s giant skyscrapers and modern architectural structures.  But just south of Nairobi’s central business district, along Lang’ata Road, the skyline dips a little into the atmosphere to reveal a beautiful panoramic village marked by small, grass-thatched and mud-walled huts standing confidently and thriving effortlessly among its towering neighbours. These are the Bomas of Kenya, established in 1971 by the government of Kenya under the tutelage of the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation to maintain, preserve, and promote the diverse cultural identities of our communities.  

Like many African names with meaning behind them, the village was named Bomas for a reason. Bomas was established as a trove to safeguard our cultures from the negative impacts of globalisation and external influence. This bestowed upon it the role homesteads – called boma by over 20 Kenyan communities – played in the past as the foundational units of cultural identity and preservation. 

Since its establishment, Bomas of Kenya has served its purpose as a cultural haven. Besides hosting bomas from all Kenyan communities, it has a gallery space dedicated to our treasured cultural artefacts. Here, you will find artefacts ranging from stools, vessels, musical instruments, and even special tools used by our communities for rituals and special ceremonies. 

At Bomas, the delightful sounds of our traditional songs and dances are preserved through daily cultural performances. The Bomas Harambee Dancers perform these songs and dances adapted from all our communities to the sound of wind, percussion, string and other instruments our gifted forefathers designed and used. 

The air around Bomas is also distinct with the aromas of our traditional delicacies. Our food identity is here, too. At Bomas’ Utamaduni Restaurant, delectable indigenous foods and cuisines are served for all to savour and cherish, and anyone from any community can say, vyakula vyetu vipo hapa. 

Besides being a living museum where all our past heritage is stored, Bomas of Kenya is revolutionising access to information on our culture. Its library and multimedia centre catalogues information on Kenyan culture in periodicals, books, audio and video formats, enabling researchers, students, teachers and tourists to find fact-based information about Kenyan communities and their cultures. 

True to its name, Bomas of Kenya is the home of heritage; the very place where our #KeCultureLives.