Reviewed 08 Jan 2011 by Ruth Findlay Brooks
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
It's difficult to pick out any one thing, as it was all so memorable, but perhaps most of all meeting the people of the village and being welcomed into their homes and community. We felt really privileged to be included in their lives for a week, in such a stunningly beautiful place.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Don't expect this to be like any other holiday you've been on! If you're open to different ways of living, like meeting people, and enjoy "real" experiences rather than mediated tourism then you'll have a great time.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I hope so. I was pleased that - unlike most holidays in Kenya - all the income was going to local people including the host community. Great care was taken to minimise both the negative environmental and cultural impacts. There were thoughtful details such as planting a tree each when we arrived, and fetching water from the reservoir on the second day certainly focused our minds on minimising our use of water for the rest of the stay!
We learned a lot about practical approaches to agriculture where water is scarce, and about traditional creative crafts. The children thoroughly enjoyed helping us and joining in, so hopefully they learned something too and realised how much we valued their culture and traditions.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
An amazing week, and one that my daughter and I will never forget. The itinerary for the week was incredibly well thought through and planned to give a really good balance of practical, social and craft activities, as well as visits to schools and a clinic (and local pub!) with enough chance to rest and catch our breath in between. Jackie and Martha were always around to guide and advise. A unique opportunity to experience, as much as one can, another culture and way of living, and as a result to look at ones own way of living more objectively.
Reviewed 23 Dec 2008 by Andrew Fuller
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The goodbye parties/ceremonies... We did two separate one-week village stays and at each location we were speechless by the end of the night. The communities which hosted us were so welcoming to us, they made us feel like we had come home. We will never forget traditional song and dance in the moonlight of Kabimoi or being given Kikamba names at Mulanii. Priceless.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be aware that the itinerary is packed, so you need to be prepared for lots of activity. The villages are in remote locations and though you're taken care of you are living how the locals do, so it can be a shock if you aren't accustomed to sometimes primitive conditions. Be sure that you inform the organizers of any health issues, food limitations, or special needs ahead of time. Make sure you bring at least one warm set of clothes for the evenings you are outside and also a towel and washcloth for bathing. Remember that you are guests in someone's home and community. This is much more than a vacation, it's a cultural learning experience.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, we hope that our holiday did benefit the local people with minimal impacts on the environment. Our impact on the local communities was something that we were thinking of often. Any time that outsiders come into a community there will be some impact, but we felt that our presence was generally a positive one. One of the things that we noticed several times was that our presence was encouraging the host community to think more about their cultures and practices than they might otherwise. In several of our cultural learning sessions village elders taught us traditional crafts- decorating calabashes to hold the traditional soured milk drink, making arrows, weaving baskets, etc. During these sessions we were often able to invite local children in to observe and participate in traditional cultural practices that they'd never done before. Our presence provided an opportunity for them to break away from the typical day to day activities and learn things that are obviously receiving less attention by the younger generation because of increasing westernization.
As far as environmental impact goes, we were generally living alongside the host communities in a simple lifestyle. When possible we were walking from home to home and activity to activity instead of using a vehicle. Our main impact was probably an increase in how much water was used, which is a big deal when an area is experiencing drought. However, even that increase was negligible as we were taking bucket showers and using pit toilets. One of the excellent aspects of the home stays was that at each location our first community ceremony was a tree planting. The trees we helped plant will provide shade, fuel, and a reminder to the community of our time with them.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
8 out of 10. The overall experience was fantastic, we learned so much and met such great people. We would definitely do it again given the chance. However; there's always room for improvement. Here are a few recommendations we'd suggest:
Communication: Though the itinerary was well put together and packed, we didn't receive it until the day of departure during each week. It would have been nice to have it ahead of time and ideally to have been able to provide some input such as which activities might be our highest or lowest priorities. Though we had a lot of experiences, there wasn't much time or focus on processing what we'd done or learned. There was clearly a lot of thought put into the activities presented but the intent wasn't often communicated to us. If we were viewing two different schools or health care facilities, clearly there was an unspoken agenda behind that. Having some questions, prompts, or conversations planned into the schedule to reflect on what we were seeing and doing could have greatly increased the educational aspects of the trip.
Flexibility: Our time was so tightly scheduled that at times we felt very out of control. There were times when we felt exhausted but obligated to do every planned activity- even if it was the end of the day and we were running hours behind. The down time for us to catch our breath was always the first thing to get cut if schedules went over, so some days turned into 12 hour marathons. Keeping in mind that we were experiencing culture shock the entire time, always being "on" was a bit much at times. The activities were all worthwhile, but at times it was hard to enjoy them because of the pressure to keep going.
Reviewed 19 Aug 2007 by Bill Landale
I have recently returned home to Scotland after a village home stay in Karurumo Village (Embu) with Jackie Kariithi of this operator. My daughter, Tamsyn, who lives in Sydney, found the holiday through your site, having been a previous client of yours. I wanted to record what a brilliant week we both had.
It was outstanding value for money, and altogether a unique holiday in which we not only got to know our host family and many of their friends, but also experience 'real' Kenyan family life and many facets of the community. These included markets, schools, hospital, dispensaries, farms and local industries - not to mention some excellent sightseeing and a visit to Mwea Game Reserve. Jackie's personal attention throughout was superb and a key element in the success of the whole week.
The host families helped us learn some of their language, customs, farming practices, crafts, cooking, and generally how to enjoy life without electricity! We didn't see another white person the whole week - wonderful!! I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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