Kenyan culture and traditions 5-day tour from Nairobi

On this 5-day tour, you will be involved in the sustainability programs that One Horizon supports, which are helping Kenya’s most vulnerable people step away from poverty and towards brighter futures. Visit a children’s feeding centre, an innovative city farm, and a women’s empowerment project. This will give you fascinating insights into Kenyan culture and connect with people on a personal level.

DAY 1 Help at a Soup Kitchen - Get involved in helping disadvantaged communities is both an opportunity to engage with local people and a rewarding way for travellers to contribute alleviating the problems of poverty in Kenya. Today you visit a children’s centre on the outskirts of Nairobi supported by One Horizon, which provides the kids with their only regular meal each day. You may have an opportunity to prepare and distribute nutritious food, and in return will receive beautiful, happy smiles and witness firsthand how communities work together to help the hungry and most vulnerable.

DAY 2 They said it cannot be done - Spend an incredible day with some amazing Kenyan women who have managed to overcome the most difficult challenges that life can bring. Then, visit the Women's Empowerment Centre where local women in the area undertake an 18-month program that teaches them lifestyle, trade and entrepreneurial skills so they can set up their own businesses. The experience of meeting these determined and resourceful women will allow you to walk away with a new perspective on how teaching empowerment and skills can lift people out of poverty to support and keep families together.

DAY 3 The Hippos of Lake Naivasha - Today drive west of Nairobi to Lake Naivasha, Kenya's most beautiful freshwater lake surrounded by peaceful grassy banks and fringed by thick papyrus. Along the way, stop at a roadside lookout for the stunning views over Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and arrive at a lovely lakeside lodge in huge grounds studded with acacia trees and perhaps spot the odd antelope or vervet monkey. Catch a small boat to view the pods of hippos and abundant birdlife that Naivasha is so famous for, then back at the lodge enjoy a delicious leisurely lunch and relaxing swim in the pool before returning to Nairobi in the late afternoon.

DAY 4 Grandmothers love their pigs - Visit another local community to meet some of the endearing and entrepreneurial Kenyan grandmothers who play a vital role in raising their grandchildren and providing a home and meals to many generations in their family. Visit a local grandmother’s pig farm and discover how pig-husbandry provides food and financial support and the bio-gas system creates energy out of the waste to power a home. Sit with the grandmothers and listen to their powerful stories of how they broke the cycle of poverty in between some joyful singing and dancing and a cup of local tea, and on this inspirational day you learn how resilient people can be.

DAY 5 Become a Maasai for the day - Venture into rural Maasai country where you will meet a family and immerse yourself in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle of Maasai village life. Your host will be one of the village elders, an heir to his clan, and you meet his wife and children too. The male children of the family are young morans, the traditional defenders of the tribe. Learn about their traditional rites of passage while also discovering the intricacies of the Maasai family structure. An amazing day where you can get the chance to become an honorary Maasai, learn how to throw a traditional spear and the techniques needed to survive in the bush.