back to shaggz

…but this time I am prepared! :-)

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AOB: I modified my gravity water filter and bought some new parts at Nakumatt when I was in Nbo. A STEFANI water filter candooool (ceramic catridge) which is way much better than this simple ceramic filter I’ve used before. The purifying process works through a) ceramic filtration, b) sterilisation through a Coloidal Silver cover and c) granular activated carbon, which adsorbs chlorine, taste, odours and organic chemicals. Also, I’ve managed to obtain one of those really hard to get plastic water taps that make it so much easier to release the purified water from the lower bucket. I’d previously installed a normal, 1/2 inch brass tap which had a really bad hydraulic behaviour (Hola Bwana Toricelli!).

Having modified this gravity water filter, the cost scheme changes to:

2 x buckets @ Ksh. 90 => Ksh. 180
1 x water purifier candle with activated carbon & coloidal silver => Ksh. 795
1 x plastic water tap => Ksh. 415
TOTAL: Ksh. 1390 /=

The very same system sells for Ksh. 2000/= in Embu, and there’s only one shop in town (run by a retired colleague from the WRMA :-) that sells these filter systems in the whole area. Now, that’s much more than the initial Ksh. 400 /=, but still a wise investment – given that I will drink more water in future which is why I came up with my own filter in the first place.

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As for those wondering about the yellow colour: I think that’s due to reflections by the flash. Or the camera catches more details than what meets the human eye…

@Harrycane: ich bring Dir demnächst den Messinghahn samt Tankgewinde mit – vielleicht haste da noch nen Nutzen für im Hostel?

roadside artists

The roadside is where the action is. There are some things out there you never get to see while travelling in a car. This especially applies to those Wazungu folks in their posh & red number plated 4WD cars who spend some years here and then say they’ve stayed in Aaaafrikaaaaa. Yeah, right.

Something like this (scrap metal art):

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the car

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the musician

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the kichwa tembo

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the kichwa again, this time with a flamingo and an old jacket

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a stalled eroplani

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TingaTinga paintings within nice wooden frames made out of driftwood – something where the Kenyan part in me argues that these frames can’t be good kwani they are already broken and the styler-part in me thinks: woah, yeah, great safari design, these guys have nice & inspiring catalogues.

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And then of course Bwana fundi seremala who takes 2 weeks to complete the door frame for this Lamu-door. Whoever ordered this door will receive some piece of really nice work. Think of something like Ksh 25.000/= and we’re in business. Now that’s even more than what my colleagues in Embu earn every month. Jobgroup J & K in the public service, you know?

There’s something about this City of Nairobi that always makes me come back.

painting cats

I thought about renaming my blog from “Kikuyumoja’s Realm” into “JKE’s photo safari blog” for a moment, but then…

Harrycane, the kids & I went to the christmas bazar at the German Embassy/Church place on Riverside Drive in Nbo today, and despite of meeting some old friends I hadn’t seen for a long long time, I also had a chance of meeting one of Kenya’s finest artists: Bertiers.

Joseph Bertiers, this humble sign writer from Dagoretti who has actually won some prestigious awards in the past, is no stranger to me. I had this really funny poster on “toilet use” in my bathroom he made for the GTZ some 12 (?) years ago, I remember he made a painting of our graduation class in 1996 (Mathias, where is it? in Frankfurt?) and even fellow blogger / videojournalist Ruud Elmendorp made a short documentary on him some time ago. Bertiers’ name was on my “things to do” list earlier this year when I came to apply for that internship in Embu. I urgently wanted to meet him and see his atelier.

Now, I gave him my card and wrote “Kikuyumoja” on it – and Bertiers instantly told me “yeah, Kikuyumoja’s Realm, I know that site on the internet…”.

Atereere…. :-)))))))))))

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Kibs painting cats while Agwambo enjoys an orange drive.

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WDR-Wim reporting live from the “rapids cats painting centre”.

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These paintings sell for about Ksh. 20.000 /= each, which of course is a proud amount of money. Yani, Bertiers ever-returning theme of “painting cats” is something we’ll continue observing in Kenya’s political scene – which still delivers free-of-charge daily templates for perfectly placed satire. Just imagine the Arthurs saga and their bling bling styles – that’s free entertainment which needs to be turned into art.

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Now, despite of the true political observations painted in oil, there are a lot of small and interesting details one discovers by closely looking at these paintings. And I think there’s no better compliment for an artists if a crowd of young kids interestingly inspects these paintings for about 15 minutes. And even after some years, these paintings don’t lose any of their energy.
Trust me: if you’re interested in contemporary Kenyan art, and would like to get something unique – Joseph Bertiers is the man to ask.

@Bertiers: see I don’t have transport at the moment and need to get back to Embu kesho, lakini asap there’s more time, let’s pls arrange for a visit at your studio, ok?

Stomach Clinic Restaurant

…so you’re walking through Uhuru Park, with the sunshine in the background, your favourite music on the headphones and start to appreciate nature….

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…as it always finds ways to turn even the ugliest building in Nairobi into a beautiful sight. Btw, is there any relationship between Uhuru’s Brookside milk signboard and Uhuru Park? How ironic.

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Talking about ironic things: Has anyone been to “Stomach Clinic Restaurant”?

Nairobi, I love you, regardless.

p.s.: hey, Madame “friend-of-Ciru-and-Kui-ati-we’ve-met-the-other-day” – there I went, thinking no one would spot me in the crowds of Kenyatta Ave. and then you find yourself being identified by a lovely young lady. Nice! Thx! I was so surprised & confused that I forgot to ask your name… :)

AOB: @ Mental & KBW-Admin Team: these days, whenever I take a picture and ask for permissions first, I tell them (the folks on the pictures) to check out kenyaunlimited.com. Now that’s a perfect way to promote the Kenyan blogosphere, ama?

the nation & world aids day

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==> The Daily Nation has a new layout which looks quite nice. Lots of whitespace for more informations on top (ati, when I rented uhuru.de in 1999, I didn’t know there’s this jamaa by the name of Uhuru Kenyatta becos by that time he was still making love to booze).

—

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Today is WORLD AIDS DAY – and upon arrival at the office, I was given this cap.

Now I don’t know how this cap actually relates to this deadly disease, lakini I am reminded of that HIV/Aids Workshop I participated in earlier this month – and it still showed me that there’s a lot to talk about.

I shall wear it proudly to promote discussions on this important issue. As far as I feel, HIV/Aids isn’t something we can afford to ignore. My thoughts are with those that have lost their friends and family due to this ******* virus. Is there any data out there on the economic damage this has created for the country?

Imagine the amount of ARVs that could have been bought instead of printing such caps.

jewels of the day

1. US-$ 320 million. Now THAT’S a lot of money.

2. I really miss my guitar(s) as mentioned earlier. Something that will sweeten up lonely evenings in Embu and/or make me play along to the One Man Guitar show next door which happens to entertain me every single evening. Btw, what do you call these big (kikuyu) country hats anyways?

On my way to work, I stopped by Nairobi’s oldest music shop Assanands on Moi Avenue and asked for cheap guitars. There are these pictured below which sell for about Ksh. 4.550 /= and are actually made somewhere in Western Kenya. The finish isn’t that nice, but they work and, again, they are MADE IN KENYA. Holadiho!

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…and then of course there are some Made in China which sell for slightly more, around Ksh. 5.000/= and have a much better finish:

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Now let me think about this investment.

3. Next door to Asanands is the “Bookpoint” – a very nice book shop for those books you won’t find in other places of the country. I came here to look for another copy of these Kikuyu-language books I bought earlier this year. They didn’t have them. But what they have is this:

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An “English-Kikuyu , Kikuyu-English” dictionary for a horrendous price (Ksh. 500/=) – but since I’d been looking for something like this for a long long time, I invested my last money (hey, I am only left with the Matatu fare back home!) to get a copy. Now this is something I shall copy for Kui! :-)

Says the author, Gerald J. Wanjohi: “(…)..Here in Kenya we know that rural children quite often outdo their urban counterparts at the national exams. The latter have very little knowledge, if any, of indigenous African languages…..(…)….The aim of this small book is to help Gikuyu-speaking people love and learn their language along with their traditions.”

Mageria no mo mahota. (~ trying is succeeding)