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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.
The Story Of Enda – Kenya's First Running Shoe
This story has me smiling from cheek to cheek as it makes me feel very proudly Kenyan. Author Nanjala Nyabola captures so much about my country's enduring spirit—even in the parts when she talks about difficult times that we hope never to see again: the 2007/08 election violence. This is the story of one Kenyan woman's dream to make a running shoe in our country, which is known for having excellent runners.
The co-founder of Enda, Kenya's first running shoe company, recalls the moment she decided she had to follow this dream:
"I remember watching a Nike window display in a department store in New York that was an exact replica of the Rift Valley,” she says, referencing the region of East Africa that is home to Kenya’s running community. “There were even life-size cut-outs of Kenyan athletes in the display but it was an American shoe. And I remember even then wondering, ‘Why haven’t we made a Kenyan running shoe?'"
She recalls her journey of turning this dream into reality, first by surveying runners who train in Kenya's high altitude areas of Eldoret and Iten. At 2,150m and 2,400m above sea level respectively, the area attracts runners who want to benefit from training in relatively thin oxygen to boost their performance in lower altitudes. After that her and her partner needed to learn all the specifics of making a running shoe. They struggled to find the right expertise locally. Once they made the prototypes, they struggled to get the right distribution in the country given their relatively small initial order size of 10,000 shoes. With the help of a kickstarter campaign and social media funding, they were eventually able to mobilize the funds – primarily from Kenyans – who supported their vision. With that, their first line of Enda shoes went on the market: the Enda Iten comes in the colors of the Kenyan flag, bearing the shield from our flag and featuring a groove that represents the rift valley.
It's a heartwarming story of the long path to the creation of Kenya's first running shoe.
