FRIDAY, 19th, Maungu Village, Taita Taveta. I was seated in a 7-seater Matatu. We’d just done a 40 km stretch from Voi Town and had just arrived at Maungu Village Center. Destination Mt. Kasigau. At this point, I was contemplating going back. The road ahead was a dusty all-weather terrain, it felt like it hadn’t rained in a decade, and I had a feeling the rest of the journey would feel like camping in a boiler room—It was hot, dry, and dusty. The road had cracks. The earth beneath was clearly desperate for a drop of water.
Background of the story: Two months ago, I’d sat down with a close friend who’d also journeyed with me for eight years, working freelance on the digital landscape. We’ve been planning on becoming Digital Nomads since nothing holds us down to specific locations in the country—apart from family.
We’d zeroed in on a couple of destinations and finally settled on Kilifi County. We’d do a pilot run, living in Kilifi for a month before visiting Taita Taveta for a business venture he was pursuing. It was a perfect plan until I got to Maungu on the last week of our pilot Digital Nomad idea.
Before we set out for Kasigau, a local warned us of the possibility of not getting transport back to our hotel in Voi, Jora Village, in Rukanga. Kasigau is a remote village with little commercial activity; transport is a problem due to the poor road conditions. Also, Jora doesn’t get many visitors. Therefore, not many people travel back to Voi town past 2 pm.
Drive to Rukanga Center, Kasigau
We had a contact person in Jora village who’d been waiting for us since 9 a.m. It was already noon, and the driver didn’t seem in a hurry to get to Rukanga center in Kaisigau.
Finally, we set out on the 40km dirt road to Rukanga, and by the time we got to Buguta, there was a clear distinction between the locals and visitors in the vehicle. The ladies covered themselves with ‘shukas’ to protect their hair and clothes from the dust, and we looked like we’d been working in a Posho Mill.
At first, the landscape towards Rukanga was raw, with dust and heat blaring under the noon sun. But although it looked like we were driving in the middle of a park, the vegetation was filled with drought-resistant bush and thicket that mainly consisted of Acacia Commiphora, Acacia Elatior, sparsely distributed Kigelia Africana, and Mimusops Fruiticos shrubs, among others.
And then came the hills. This got my attention. Apart from water bodies, I have a fascination for rocky hills. My parents tell me my ancestors came from the mountain and that genetic memory must still be intact somewhere in my DNA.
Describing Taita Hills as beautiful is an understatement. The drive through Taita Hill brought back memories from Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa Novel. But I am biased in saying that Taita Taveta is perhaps one of the few places I’ve visited that remains untouched. And that’s what I thought until we got to Rukanga.
Behold! Mt. Kasigau
Rukanga is a small village center in Kasigau with a mountain canvas background. It looks unreal in its simplicity, like an old painting, with locals up and about in their business. The vegetables on the grocery stand look pale. They were probably acquired from Voi town. There’s not enough rain here to grow greens. There’s a tailor in the distance peddling his Singer, too deep in conversation, and a young lady outside her shop, deep in thought, passing the afternoon away.
The moment we step out of the Matatu, the faces around us brighten. The locals of Rukanga are so welcoming. Everyone knows everyone here, and soon enough, we are whisked away in mopeds heading to Jora. At this point, our phones are out recording the marvelousness of Mt. Kasigau.
The monolithic mountain sits behind the tiny village, massive and almost like an eye in the sky. It didn’t matter which direction you went. It stood there in its greatness, almost like it was watching, untouched and raw, with patches of forests in between the vast rock beds. It was at this point that I fell in love with Kasigau.
We finally got to Jora, another tiny sleepy village at the foot of Mt. Kasigau, and on the way there, we spotted some cottages. They looked rundown and far in between. There was someone who, like me, saw the potential of Kasigau as a destination.
We found Rose waiting at the side of the road, with her baby saddled at her back. Believe it or not, she’d been waiting for us since 9 a.m. We began the 15-minute hike to her home in between elephant trails and shambas. She welcomed us with a cup of the sweetest, spicy tea, Taita tea.
Checking Out Jora Center
We had come to Jora for my friend’s possible business venture. As they went into details of their affairs, I could help interject by asking about Mt. Kasigau and its history and why such a beautiful place looks deserted. I was hoping to hear that this village, like every other destination in the country, is suffering the after-effects of the global pandemic, but I was wrong. Kasigau’s problems began 15 years ago.
I feel the country and the Tourism stakeholders are selling false truths. When you think of touring, it’s often about big budgets, 4X4 trucks, 5-course meals deep in the Savanna, and cocktails on the beach in resorts only tourists can afford. But, let’s face it: going on an African safari like the Wildebeest Migration is a privilege that, in my opinion, is absurd.
UNDP started a Banda/Cottage project in Kasigau to help the communities protect the Kasigau forest by enabling them to engage commercially in tourism. This project was a success, but zero follow-ups were made, none of the websites initiated are still running, and those left in charge don’t have an idea how to renew the annual hosting fee. Today, those Bandas/Cottages have been converted into homes, and the locals aren’t too keen to talk about them.
The Weavers of Rukanga, Kasigau
Rukanga also has a thriving weavers’ community, a project much like the Bandas that’s slowly starting to face the fate of the Bandas.
Despite the challenges and missed opportunities faced by Kasigau locals, the government and NGOs are doing a lot for the mountainside village.
The Kasigau Wildlife Sanctuary Protects more than 200,000 hectares of dryland forests, 11,000 endangered elephants, countless lions, cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs, and zebras. The REDD+ project initiated in Kasigau is also the first project in the world to receive a verified emissions reduction under VCS standards.
I believe Kasigau has so much richness to offer. I spent my entire afternoon there, and I felt like I needed more than a week to appreciate its natural bounty fully. There’s much to experience in Mt. Kasigau, including an indigenous mystical forest, Taita skull caves, endemic orchids, and impatiens flowers. There’s also a WW1 monument for British and German soldiers who died in the mountain.
We drove back to Voi in a last-minute hired car at sunset, and I had this undying need to share my Kasigau story. I’m definitely coming back to this land of hidden treasures. I am sure there’s so much I don’t know about Kasigau that I need to experience. This is my tiny offering towards boosting local tourism for the locals in Kasigau since the government and NGOs are clearly doing a lot in terms of capacity building (cough).
What about you?