When we moved to Kakamega, we also moved into new houses.
Many of the staff moved into a complex of newly built homes on cleared hillside
surrounded by farmland. It’s a beautiful spot, very green and hilly. The
surrounding hills are coved in maize and sugarcane, and, since it’s essentially
in the rain forest, there are tropical trees, flowers, and birds all around including hamerkops,
hornbills, ibises, cranes, and many others. It’s also incredibly peaceful; there’s
little noise apart from nearby children playing and cows in the pasture. It’s a
ways off the main street: a 40-minute walk on a dirt road. However, we did have
access to shared company cars to make running out for groceries or to the
office easier.
(Sunset over the compound)
(July 4th party)
Despite living on a compound, it felt very private for the 3
months we were there. The houses themselves are spacious with lots of natural
light and high ceilings. Emily and I had a place right at the base of the
compound with an uninterrupted view of the surroundings. We had a nice little
porch from which we could enjoy incredible sunsets daily. The inside of the
house, though I don’t have any photos to share, felt very homey and pleasant with
its open floor plan. The highlight was probably the very strong, hot showers- a
major upgrade from our last place in Bungoma. While there are some drawbacks to
living so far out of town (difficulty interacting with the community, for one),
it is a very pleasant place to live and we were really happy we had the chance
to enjoy it!
(Our porch)
(Birthday party in our house)
