Western Circuit Tours

Kenya is a multi-cultural community with 43 ethnic tribes/ groups.
People to People Tourism have links with virtually all of them in different corners of the country, where we take our clients to experience this rich and diverse culture of our beautiful country- Kenya.

In our Western Circuit, that is where you will come face to face with the Abaluhya ethnic group, which inhabits the Western Province of Kenya. The women in this area are engaged in weaving of baskets, mats and ropes. The major raw material is banana fiber. We'll also have you visit the Ilesi women group involved in making of all types of traditional cooking pots made out of clay.

The Western Kenya region is well known for their Bull fighting cultural ceremonies. This takes place very early in the mornings. The World's famous Kakamega tropical rainforest birds sanctuary is also located in this region.

Tabaka Region (Kisii Soapstone)

This tour will take you to the historical soapstone mining area, Kisii - Tabaka. These rare stones are only found in Tabaka region in Kenya where the major economic activity is soapstone carving.
The soapstone products are famous at all corners of the world. The trade in soapstone is significant both to carvers and suppliers in Kenya and wholesalers, retailers and consumers abroad.

Tabaka is located about 360 KM West of Nairobi in Western Kenya and is inhabited by the Kisii ethnic group. The principal activity in this area is soapstone carving. The soapstone is sourced from local community farms, and the carving is treated as a family's income generating activity.

The trade of soapstone comprises of both men and women, young and old. Traditionally it is the men who do the digging/mining of the soapstone as well as carving the products in the required shapes, size and designs. The women's part involves polishing and washing finished products as well as applying the shining wax cream popularly known as cobra wax.

Our Western Circuit Tour will give you an opportunity to visit the soapstone mines/quarry and see for yourself the intensive Labour involved in extracting the soapstone using crude tools. Meet also the carvers at work/production process and have the liberty of sharing with them the carving experience. Meet also with the women involved with smoothening of the products using sand paper and water and polishing the finished products using wax. Also visit various shops stocked with soapstone items.

More interesting are the pick-ups that are used in transportation of the soapstone from the quarry.
A two/three day stay in Tabaka will give you an opportunity to have a proper insight of the tradition of Soapstone carving in Kenya. There are three options of spending your night. For the clients interested in adventure, you may opt to stay at the producers' homes. By staying with the host community, you will have the opportunity to learn in details the usual way of life. After all, a night in an African home could just be so memorable. The second option is to spend your night in the local guesthouse, close to the host community. The third option is to spend the night in Kisii town in a three star Hotel. The town is located about 30 minutes drive from Tabaka.

It will be our pleasure to arrange a village cultural tour for you to meet and share a face to face experience with the locals.

Lake Victoria Region

This tour will take you to the second largest fresh Water Lake in the world. The lake is located about 325 Km from Nairobi city in Western Kenya. The Luo community whose major economic activity is fishing inhabits the area.

The Luo people are famous for their strong traditions/culture of which many of them still adhere to upto now. We will also have you visit some fair trade organization in the region that provide sustainable marketing services to micro and small enterprises that produce giftware and home accessory items. These Fair Trade Organizations work with local artisans to find new markets for both existing and new products, thus increasing incomes and employment opportunities in the area.

Southern Circuit Tours - Wamunyu Wood Carving

The Kamba people are famous in wood carving in Kenya. This activity is a significant source of income to the local people who engage in it. Over the years, carving as a skill has been perfected and passed from generation to another, producing items of high quality.
This trip will expose you to producer groups who work together with Crafts of Africa. You will have an opportunity to intermingle with the producers and learn their traditional way of life. This will also give you an opportunity of buying gift items directly from the producers, hence promoting their work.