Skiing in Kenya

Not really skiing in Africa. These pictures are from Colorado.

I survived several months in “Nairobbery” with out any incidents of theft but the first weekend in the US, my skis were stolen. Fortunately, the thief was apprehended when he tried to sell my skis to a shop outside of town. Not too wise.

Other highlights of my vacation included a bout with E. coli (always fun) and a weekend of extreme skiing in the deep snow of Silverton, CO.

It is about time for me to leave this -5 degree weather and return to the sunshine of Kenya.

Amboseli

Friday was Kenya’s Independence Day. The Kenyans call it Jamhuri day. My compatriots Craig and Crystal invited me yet again to chase down some wildlife in Amboseli, Kenya’s most pastoral game park at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The cloud-shrouded, 19,340 ft peak (which I hope to climb in August), gives the park a majestic backdrop.

This time we decided to take our tents and camp for two nights in the park. The park is much more exciting when you give the animals a chance to eat you at night.

Just five minutes after passing the west gate of the park, our car was immediately surrounded by a family of seven elephants. Normally dangerous, the Amboseli elephants are comfortable around cars and can even be a little too friendly.

We dropped into the posh Serena Amboseli Lodge a few times for some lunch or coffee on the picturesque veranda.

The rest of the time we spent driving through the rough back roads of the park in search of lions and cheetahs. No cheetahs this time but we made friends with plenty elephants, hippos, zebra, hyenas and a few lazy lions. The real thrill came when we returned to our electric-fenced campsite for a night of rest. Monkeys ransacked our site each day but fortunately never made it into our padlocked tents. The terrifying nocturnal roars and cries were chilling enough to keep anyone from sleeping for a few days. Craig and Crystal bought local produce and cooked some gourmet dinners for me over the campfire each night.

The local Masai people are indigenous to Amboseli and recently regained ownership of its management. As a result, the stick wielding, shawl wrapped Masai often came politely come through our campsite. They seemed pleased just to be speaking and even invited us to see their villages (for a hefty fee). The Masai still drink cow’s blood and kill lions so I decided to stay on friendly terms with all of them.

In the next few weeks I will be in the US for Christmas and not posting much.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=nat.robinson&target=ALBUM&id=5281229889379200817&authkey=d-y5AjaHVrU&feat=email

Mombasa

Thanks to all of you for posting comments. Sorry I can not respond to them sooner!

I decided it was high time to take a short vacation after working so much. Unable to find a flight with my friends to Lamu, I booked a flight to Mombasa for the weekend to check out the coast of Kenya by myself. Mombasa holds a special place because we were denied entry with Semester at Sea in 2001 after the September 11^th attacks. The Kenyans will tell you that the pace of life in Mombasa is a little slower (probably due to the heat) and the coast is the location of the true Swahili culture. I can attest to both. The beaches north of Mombasa do not match up to those of Virgin Gorda, Barbados, Hawaii, Brazil, Costa Rica or the Seychelles, but then, I have high standards for beaches. My guide told me to visit the southern coast next time. For a tall American, blending in was tough and I was taken for a tourist by every street peddler in the city. The constant harassment and scamming usually does not bother me but here it detracted from the experience. Some of the trip highlights include, a walking tour of the Mombasa island, a day in the WhiteSands resort and a boat trip on a refurbished Arabian dhow. It was tempting to join up with a band of Somali pirates but I chose to return to Nairobi.

Here are more pictures…

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=nat.robinson&target=ALBUM&id=5275206951436060929&authkey=Z7fxekrsg5w&feat=email

Mt. Kenya Dairy Trip

Happy Thanksgiving! No turkey or pilgrims in Kenya. I even had to work today.

K-Rep sent me to visit some rural milk chilling plants to evaluate their future investment potential. The milk chilling plants are supported by the East African Dairy Development Project (EADD), will provide thousands of jobs and create massive milk revenues for rural farmers. Like the village banks, the chilling plants are owned and operated by the farmers who receive nice dividend payments when times are good.

A team joined me from a fantastic organization called TechnoServe which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is involved in setting up these milk chilling plants. TechnoServe provides the technical assistance and training involved in running a chilling plant.

We drove up the slopes of Mt. Kenya near Nyeri and met with a group of dairy farmers in the lush valleys of the Central Province. K-Rep is much less involved in this program (at this point) so I did not have any opportunities to give speeches or do some dancing…

More pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nat.robinson/MtKenyaAndNairobi

Nairobi Slums

Last weekend, my friend from K-Rep Bank drove me around some of the worst slums in Nairobi. These places we could only visit during the middle of the day on a Sunday. My digital camera was making my friend nervous so I could not take as many pictures as I liked.


We stopped and chatted with a local mechanic and shopkeeper to hear stories about how many people are killed in certain streets and that you can arrange a murder for around 3,000 Kshs or $43. We actually had to pay a tax the slum lord just to drive through his neighborhood. They do not get too many Americans walking around their neighborhoods and I attracted plenty of attention. Although, at no point in my time in Nairobi have I any incidents of being threatened.
It was still a fun experience to some of the rough parts of the city.

Mabera Village Bank

I took a short flight with the company CEO to a visit a town called Kisumu in western Kenya. We were on our way to the opening ceremony of an FSA in the rural town of Mabera. Kisumu is the situated on the banks of Lake Victoria and very close to the village where Obama’s father was born. In the airport, I noticed a truckload of CNN baggage on its way back to Nairobi following the election last week.

Western Kenya seemed to mix lush basins with rolling hills scattered with small holder farms and remote towns. The company truck was skillfully maneuvered along the pothole riddled mountain roads at high speeds by our veteran driver, Asika. Our team of five representatives from the K-Rep Group arrived in Mabera and were promptly introduced to the village leadership and provided with a tour of the new FSA building. Ceremonies soon began under a tent with several hundred of the village residents in attendance. The Mabera village leaders delivered a series of long-winded speeches and introduced the newly elected bank board of directors. Our ceremony was then graced with the presence of the provincial government District Officer and District Commissioner (along with their full security detail in tow). Thankfully, a group of elders and traditional African dancers preformed to break up the speeches. I managed to throw out a few moves myself.

Eventually it came time to explain why I was present as the only foreigner for hundreds of miles. I was handed the microphone after a lengthy introduction as Mr. Robinson from K-Rep and I proceeded to use as many Swahili phrases as I knew. At the end of my speech, I threw in a line about being an American and how I was happy for Barak Obama. The audience then gave me a standing ovation.

The Mabera community truly embraced this FSA and I expect the bank to be a valuable resource for small businesses. I even purchased three official shares of the bank myself and anticipate a dividend within the year.

Our CEO flew back to Nairobi but Asika and I remained in Kisumu for another day and then drove the 7hr and 480kms home. I did not even notice the length of the drive since the scenery kept me well occupied. We would stop by street vendors in every town to purchase bananas, potatoes, sugar cane and anything else that might fit in the bed of the pickup truck. Asika explained to me that he was supporting the rural businesses and saving his family from the heavy costs of produce in Nairobi. This trip was a highlight to my experience this far and I hope to participate in a few more journeys throughout rural Kenya.

Here are some more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/nat.robinson/KisumuTripAndMaberaFSA

Apartment

I moved into an apartment right next to the K-Rep Bank. The place is massive and very nice but does not have any furniture. The bank owns the building and was kind enough to give me one of the vacant apartments for my time in Kenya.

Only… the hot water does not work for the shower and I have to wash my cloths by hand in the sink. The Kenyans thought it was crazy that I had my own washer/dryer combo when I was living in Washington, DC. Here are a few pictures of my spacious yet empty new home.

We are continuing to burn the midnight oil and work some crazy long hours at the bank. My day starts around 7:15 and I usually do not leave the office until well past 7:00pm. These last two weekends I have also spent some time putting this financing deal together for the Grassroots Business Fund. It is so refreshing to once again have some responsibility and a daily purpose. I never in my life thought I would have to evaluate a foreign currency swap hedge (wish I had paid attention in that class at business school).

This weekend… I am scheduled to participate in the opening of a rural Financial Services Association (FSA) that the K-Rep group is supporting with the government of Kenya. These FSAs are like village banks where the local residents can take microloans but are also the owners/shareholders with the ability to vote on board members and whether or not to distribute dividends. It is a fantastic model that has seen some early success in Africa. For all of you who are worried about where to put your money these days maybe you should consider purchasing equity in a few of these FSAs. Rural Kenya is well isolated from the global financial crisis.

PS- I am seriously concerned about my welfare as a US citizen in Kenya if Obama does not win. 89% of Kenyans say they would vote for Obama.