THE SEASON OF REASON

Porini Sanctuary is neatly nestled in a beautiful scenic and serene habitat a few kilometres from Nanyuki town. From the Sanctuary one has breathtaking views of the Ol Daiga Hills and Mt Kenya. I was introduced to the Sanctuary and her owner Madam Wanjiku by a Kenyan Social Justice activist Veteran Al Amin Kimathi. I was curious about the place from how he described it and the vision Madam Wanjiku, a naturalist, had implemented. The Sanctuary sounded like a haven of indigenous species and concepts. If I had any doubt, the explanation of the kind of kitchen and the AirbnB part of the story greatly appealed to me and it sealed the deal of one of the must-visit spaces. My plan was to spend a few nights there as I toured some of the most interesting food places in Nanyuki. The Porini Sanctuary is located in a village named Mwìreri, which in Gìkùyù means one who raises or takes care of himself. It turned out that starting my Kenya21 Food Tour at Porini was a wise decision. It was the only time I relaxed and spent time with other social activists without much serious work besides a lot of sharing and light cooking using the herbs grown near the outside kitchen. 

Even before I left, I knew that Porini was going to be added to the small list of places I call home. The connection wasn't just geographical but also biological and ideological. I am glad that my culture has a provision for one to be "born" into another family through certain cultural rites. A major part of that rite is food. The two days I spent at Porini left an indelible mark in my heart. The hospitality and the conversations around the outside kitchen are a testament to the instant connection to the host and the space. 

The main building has a medium-sized but comfortable lobby, with books and dim light that ensures that one does not get the crazy idea of reading indoors. Around the lobby are four huge rooms that have no ceiling. That means that air circulation is privatized over privacy. That too prioritized rest over conversations while inside. For those reasons, amongst others, I found that my stay had an already engineered balance between the time I spent inside and outside. 

The outside kitchen is spacious and oddly stocked with mismatched cutlery that included expensive brands and common brands. A traditional fireplace was complemented by antique guards and a type of chirping birds whose nest I raided in my childhood days. 

The inside of the main house reminded me of the house of my childhood, though the rooms in my childhood house were much smaller. Once I was 14, I left the main house as was the tradition for boys and moved to a room detached from the main house. I hadn't thought much about the architecture of my childhood house until I visited Porini, which is a phenomenal round traditional, yet modern hut, roofed with the traditional makuti which Wanjiku explained were brought in from Lake Victoria, which is in the Western Part of the Country. The grandeur of the beautiful Makuti is as picturesque from the outside as well as from the inside. 

I haven't even talked about the meditation room at the end of a walkway connecting the main house to a two storey natural building with one room on each floor. The bottom is a kitchen and the top is a meditation room. A whole chapter is needed to cover the amazing compound, filled with indigenous plants and a few books to cover the knowledge of Wanjikù, my fictive sister and the spirit behind Porini. Her multilingual indigenous knowledge is dope! Wanjiru's razzmatazz in her identification of indigenous trees, flowers, birds, medicinal benefits of many of those plants and even the ecological benefits of many of them left all of us amazed. She even knew the names in both Maasai and Gìkùyù. Her wide travels and times spent in faraway places with shamans in the Amazon and the Sangomas of Southern Africa juxtaposed with her university training both in Kenya and abroad gave her unraveled depth in indigenous matters. We were in for a ride. Yet my ride was a special one. First it was special in that Wanjiku honored me by serenading me with her wisdom. On top of that, she proposed that we become a family, but in an indigenous way. She gave me three wonderful gifts, an old beaded traditional stool, a matching whisk and a small clay pot. I could never fully repay such a kindness, which now meant that we were now connected by three unbreakable bonds. Since she couldn't culturally do it, she asked elder-activist Al Amin to install me on the stool as the protector and promoter of indigenous flavors. My newly assigned role was to name that position and define it further.

That weekend definitely set in motion a revitalized drive to pursue my goal for a more transformative work and relationships ahead. My get-away ended up carrying me home, a home with no ceiling, but enough room and love for all who are loving and loveable.

I left Porini Sanctuary, rested but well aware of the tremendously task ahead and the great allies besides me. My first proposal under the powers vested in me by the sages of Porini is to amend the name of the village from Mwireri ,which is singular, to Ereri, which is plural. But again, all that might not be necessary, we all can simply join the movement to preserve our indigenous heritage and thrive in it. A lot of our global problems stem from our relationship with our indigenous past. Let's Heal it and Heal ourselves. 

In the meantime, I will consult the dream world about the name of the new seat as first holder of that most sacred position.

Porini Sanctuary, is a great example of the serious indigenous nodes in Kenya. Connect with it or any other such places near you, may just bring you as much rejuvenation as it did for me. If there are no such places, I now have the authority to deputize you to create one such rich space in celebration of our interconnectedness as humanity. In the same breath, I pour a libation to Porini and Lady Wanjikù for being an embodiment of a season of reason to end treason

Here is one my favourite links to Porini Sanctuary, with a beautiful traditional horn player speaking to your soul as you tour the serene abode. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIPNjghfL0U&t=121s

 

FB: https://m.facebook.com/PORINI.Sanctuary/?refsrc=deprecated&ref=104&_rdr#_=_

Chef Kabui

The Hex Kitchen is a collaboration between Chef Kabui and the Hex community in a bid to promote food literacy, mindful eating and wealth creation. There is a natural connection between those who are fighting against fiat currency and those engaged in the struggle against fiat food. The two social ills of fiat currency and fiat food are at the heart of the tyrannic global world system we are now living in. That tyranny is directly connected to the climate crisis we face and there is no way we can solve one part of the problem without being mindful of the whole system, For a start, the Hex Kitchen is keen on addressing the issues of real money and real food as a basis on regaining our sovereign power. It is no accident that the struggle for food justice would find allies in cryptography and more specifically cryptocurrency. It is not a usual collaboration but yet it is one that makes sense on many levels. Chef Kabui has been studying and applying the power of food literacy, mindful eating and food justice in the struggle against oppression in general and specifically to people of African descent.

Chef Kabui has studied the disciplines of politics, anthropology and culinary arts and has designed a cuisine or rather an approach to food that is informed by the above experience and the indigenous knowledge that he gained from his Kenyan family’s history as sustainable farmers for generations. The combined experience and education resulted in the creation of a cuisine called Afro Futuristic Conscious Cuisine. It is a combination of the most sustainable practices in the growing, preparation of food with the goal of causing the least damage to the environment and maximizing the health benefits of the food. Those two conditions are necessary for a mindful community that ensures that justice thrives.

Chef Kabui has been pushing organic food and healthy eating based on his research and his own experience. The idea of healthy food and justice is not something that chef Kabui got into but was born in it. His family operated a farm and his father ran a restaurant in the capital city of Nairobi. Kabui grew up in the village with his mother where they grew almost all the food they consumed. It was at his family farm that he Kabui developed a love for fresh food and the art of consuming food following the natural cycles of seasons.

The collaboration aims to share the skills for healthy food to the Hex community and beyond. No community can survive without food and the Hex community is no different. The Hex Kitchen is another assembly point for the community to be nourished both physically and socially. While wealth is private, food is social and having a kitchen for the community to assemble is a great option for a community that is causing ripples across the world.

What to Expect

The Kitchen will have virtual classes, content on Youtube and other social media presence for a start. The goal is that the Kitchen will have a physical place that will have a kitchen in a farm that will grown food and have space that guest can visit. The farm will have a demonstration farm for the vegetables, fruits and herbs,

For the schedule of upcoming classes please visit our events section and find a class that is fit for your schedule.