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piqer for: Global finds
Ciku Kimeria is a Kenyan author "Of goats and poisoned oranges" - (https://www.amazon.com/goats-poisoned-oranges-Ciku-Kimeria-ebook/dp/B00HBBWPI6), development consultant, adventurer and travel blogger (www.thekenyanexplorer.com). She writes both fiction and non-fiction focusing on African stories that need telling. She has worked on diverse pieces for various international and local publications including Quartz, Ozy, The East African etc. She has travelled to 45 countries – 16 of them in Africa. 153 countries to go and 63 territories!
"Of goats and poisoned oranges" has been extremely well received in Kenya and beyond. It tells the story of a Kenyan middle aged power couple and their complicated marriage. The novel explores issues of greed, revenge, betrayal and murder. It runs from the 1960s to 2013. It has been described as “Wicked, funny, poignant, wacky, human, a big ball of fun and danger”, “A unique and captivating book”, “Fun and intriguing”, “Impossible to put down once you start reading.”
She recently moved to Dakar, Senegal from Kenya to work on her second novel. She also works at as the Africa Communication Manager at a leading global strategy consulting firm.
She holds a B.S. in Management Science from MIT with minors in Urban Planning and International development studies.
Futurelab/Africa – Podcast On The Art Of Unlearning
Chief Nyamweya reflects on the post-election period 2007/08 when violence broke out in Kenya. It made him realize the futility of the white-collar life he was aspiring to. Having suppressed his artistic urges to follow society's expectations of being part of a well-heeled, well-spoken urban elite, he reflects on just how irreconcilable this reality was with that of people being burnt alive in the Rift Valley.
Suddenly, he questioned a lot of what his education had taught him. He questions an education system that works only for a minority, governance that ignores the needs of the masses, such as the poor, the youth. He sets out on a path to unlearn all that he has grown up believing is the norm.
As he speaks, I remember a great article I read every year: Kenya's middle class nightmare by blogger Mark Maish. For me, it captures so well the reality of what happens when we live a life not well-examined, when we do certain things only because it's what society expects us to do.
Futurelab/Africa is a podcast series that hopes to breed curiosity by inviting you to use your imagination and think creatively with reckless abandon. The show is a call to explore African modes of science and technology outside of lab spaces and innovation labs. We seek to find what does technology, science, nature, the environment and the nature of experimentation really mean in the context of African people’s lived realities.
Similar to Chief Nyamweya, I left a life of certainty and formal employment for my own artistic pursuits. I know it's a privilege. I'm not telling anyone that this is what they should do, but echoing Chief's sentiments of "Is this really it? Is this life that you are creating the one you should be living?" The most important thing is to constantly question and be willing to take a new path, start over again, do something that feels meaningful to you and maybe to society.
