Showing posts sorted by relevance for query jiko. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query jiko. Sort by date Show all posts

2/18/2005

Brazier (jiko)

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Jiko (brazier) and makaa (charcoal)

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Cool dry season
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation

The Kenyan jiko (brazier) is used all year round, in most parts of Kenya, for cooking meals of all types and sizes. It is heated with charcoal, which itself is also available all year round.

In the cool dry season, however, the jiko obtains an additional quality as a kigo -- it warms the cold house, even while it is being used for cooking. And when it cools off again after the meal has been prepared, the family gather round and enjoy the heat from it for another while.

The more luxurious Kenyan hotels and restaurants provide jikos for their guests in the evening on the outdoor terraces, so as to provide some heat against the chill at this time of year. The jiko as a heater has the quality of a fireplace, in that the heat is concentrated, and one can approach to warm one’s hands or feet -- but it also needs careful supervision, in case a child strays too near and gets burnt.


Charcoal embers glowing in a jiko
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

Kenyan charcoal is prepared in particular regions and brought to towns and cities, where it is sold in containers of various sizes :


Charcoal seller in Kibera, Nairobi
© PHOTO : Ina’s Pics

Charcoal is particularly popular in rural regions and urban slums, where there is no electricity and hence, there are no electric cookers. It is also popular for jikos in general, as these can be moved anywhere and are often used, even by the wealthiest people, when there are festive meals to prepare, as these may require many stoves for the various dishes.

Text © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Cooking a special meal on a large jiko
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski


Very informative video here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92P6P4Uyq1o
France24-EN report, October 2007

More links here :
http://www.solutions-site.org/kids/stories/KScat2_sol60.htm
http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/paper/tech101/jikostove.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidg/533788023/


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Worldwide use

India

I have come across very similar braziers in very similar climates in the evenings of India too, where hotel guests sitting on a terrace were provided with this kind of mobile heat.

Haiku :

This is how I remember ironing shirts in India, with an iron piece heated by charcoal fire ...

black-out again !
the ironing wallah grabs
for the charcoals

~ Gabi Greve


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Japan

. tadon 炭団 (たどん/ tandon たんどん ) charcoal briquette .
sumiuri, sumi-uri 炭売(すみうり)charcoal vendor, charcoal seller
and many more charcoal KIGO


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Things found on the way


Charcoal is used by the maize roasters along the roadsides of Kenyan towns and cities, such as this one :


Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

Charcoal irons are common in Kenya too, wherever there is no electricity.


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HAIKU


charcoal business --
the day’s supplies arrive
by bike


~ Isabelle Prondzynski

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my grandmother
spreading her hands over a jiko --
drizzly morning

my sister warming
a cold chick around a jiko --
drizzly evening

my father
roasting yams on a jiko --
dewy morning


~Esther Muthoni


neighbours waiting
for the wind to blow the jiko --
smokey room

traffic jam
caused by the charcoal lorry --
tired driver

family members
sitting around the jiko --
showery evening

charcoal seller
with a blackened face --
customers queue


~Peter Nguribu


clouds gathering,
the artisan struggles to finish the jiko --
imminent drizzle

~Patricia Nduta


Saturday evening
grandmother cooking githeri on a jiko --
red hot charcoal

Monday morning,
drying my uniforms on a jiko --
red hot charcoal

warming myself
around the jiko-
cold morning


~Onesmus Kyalo


my uncle
sits beside the hot jiko --
roasting meat


~Anne Wairimu


my mother
warming herself by the jiko --
drizzling morning

~Joseph Kilunda


cold night
crickets crying in fear --
charcoal crackling down


~Beryl Achieng


kids play around
a quickly burning jiko --
chilly morning

~ Judy


adding charcoal
to prepare dinner --
cold evening


~ Caroline Wanjiku


Cooking chapatis on a jiko
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

heating with jiko --
a busy man selling
roasted maize

jua kali artisan
modelling an iron sheet --
a young jiko

~ Martin Kamau


a charcoal iron
as clothes silently relax --
cold evening


~ James Bundi


grandmother shivering --
our lit up jiko
warms the room


~ Beryl Achieng'


rainy afternoon
mother in the kitchen
the jiko promises heat

~ Anne Wairimu


long queues
people demanding charcoal --
early risers


~ Solomon Kilelu


May evening --
my younger brother
beside the jiko


~ Jedida Nduku


an artisan
carefully mending a jiko --
cold afternoon


~ Peter Nguribu


grandmother
beside a rusty jiko --
chilly morning


~John Mwangi


my uncle
sneezing and wiping eyes --
the jiko smoke

~ Catherine Njeri Maina

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in the grandfather’s hut
kettle on top of the jiko --
chilly morning

around charcoal burner
grandfather meets grandchildren --
story time

~ Maurice Opondo


much cold --
jiko lit with charcoal
warms people up


~ aineah otieno


chattering teeth
a chill breeze blows --
jiko the only saviour


~ shamim mbone


chilly morning
red hot charcoal in a jiko
breakfast session

cold evening --
family around the jiko
talking together


~ ayoma david


women in a queue
waiting to be served --
demand for charcoal

dizzy kids
around the jiko --
drops of rain on the dishes


~ hussein haji


around the jiko
grandmum gives stories --
cure for the cold


~ Ann Wanjiru


red hot charcoal
boiling coffee on it --
chilly morning


~ Duncan Omoto

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chilly June --
my little cat seats near
the jiko door


~ Kelvin Mukoselo


wind blows --
children point their
fingers around a jiko

children moving
around a jiko ---
enjoy legend stories


~ siboko yamame


late evening --
mummy lights a jiko
to cook ugali


~ Gladys Kathini


starlit night --
staring at the crescent moon
as I light the jiko

around the jiko
children talk and sing --
cold night


~ David Caleb Mutua

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Charcoal vendor at a local market
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

cold season again
charcoal in demand --
dealers busy

four paraded jikos
outside a Soweto hotel
slowly burning up

a young man watches
charcoals passing on fire
from one to the other

early in the morning
mother lights a jiko --
smoke chokes her

~ Anthony Njoroge Irungu


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Related words


***** Slum fires
(Swahili : moto (singular) mioto (plural))



***** Kotatsu, heated table Japan

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8/21/2012

Slum fire, fires

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Slum fires
(Swahili : moto (singular) mioto (plural))


***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation

The urban slums of Kenya are highly prone to fires.
This is due to a cumulation of causes.

Each homestead has as its main focus the jiko, the fireplace or brazier, where food is cooked and heat is generated in the cold season. The jiko can be the traditional three stones, with firewood or maize cobs used as fuel. In the urban areas, it will more commonly be a brazier using charcoal, or a small metal cooker using kerosene oil.

Light is produced by hurricane lamps burning kerosene. Most homes keep a small supply of kerosene for their lamps and jiko.



Houses are small, and many combustible materials are kept within close range of any of these open fires. People, possibly with trailing clothes, move around the vicinity, and sometimes children play too near the fireplaces. During the cold season, nights are chilly, and there can be a tendency to leave fires to burn themselves out slowly while people are already falling asleep.

Ironing is done with charcoal irons, using live coals.

Many Kenyans are smokers, and careless handling of cigarettes can also cause fires.

Some small businesses use open fires -- maize roasters, fish fryers and mandazi bakers. These fires are normally well supervised and in any case extinguished as night falls.

Slum homes may also be threatened by external circumstances. These are fires starting in their neighbours' homes, fires due to sparking electricity cables, and (in one terrible incident in September 2011) a fire at the Kenya Pipeline in the Sinai section of Lunga Lunga slum. The huge oil pipeline, which ran through the slum, sprung a leak, and the slum dwellers tried to catch the spilling oil. It caught fire and exploded, killing and burning many. Some people jumped into the burning Ngong River to quench the flames, and many drowned there.

Text and photo © Isabelle Prondzynski


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Some terrible pictures here of the Sinai fire (explosion at the Kenya Pipeline)
source : www.flickr.com

And a video of the scene :
source : http://www.youtube.com

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Written in August 2012

About a month ago, fire broke out in one of the houses in the Tujisaidie community in Soweto (in the Kayole suburb of Nairobi), and everything that the family owned was destroyed. Fortunately, no one was injured and the fire did not spread to neighbouring plots.



The community's youth group, Tumaini, was at that time welcoming a group of British visitors. Abandoning their guests to respond to the call for help, the youth ran to the site of the fire and, together with the neighbours, worked hard to put it out. This involved carrying water over quite a distance, as the pipes were dry at this time. The visitors helped as best they could, carrying jerricans of water in a long chain from the Nursery School water tank, until the flames had been quenched.

For the next day, they had planned a programme of calls to several projects in the community. But the visitors discussed the matter overnight and decided that helping to rebuild the burnt house was much more important. And so, they each contributed whatever funds they could, so that building materials could be bought, and the rest of the day was spent putting up a new corrugated iron house.

The rest of the community also got together. Everyone who could, donated some clothes, some pots and pans, a blanket and other essential items, to give the affected family a new start. Slum families support each other... and each of them had probably been helped by others already, at some other time...

Isabelle Prondzynski


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way



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HAIKU


as his fire crackles
there is laughter and chat --
maize roaster

last rays
of the red sunset --
maize roaster’s fire

evening cool --
the fish fryer’s fire
glows from afar


Isabelle Prondzynski


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updates of fire
in Soweto on Facebook --
tears on my face

the fire --
Soweto goes dark
once again

still standing --
burnt electricity poles
telling the story

black smoke
engulfs the Soweto sunset --
a rush of helpers

water water
everyone calls --
flames and smoke


Antony Njoroge



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Fire in Soweto, August 2012

fire outbreak --
a woman cries pleading
for quick help

rescue group --
the watching crowd
moves away

fire outbreak --
black smoke makes its way
to the atmosphere


~ Brian Mulando




singing a song
from a blackened Golden Bells --
smouldering remains

dancing smoke
from a burnt mattress --
village fire


~ James Bundi




On Saturday at dusk, after the fire tragedy that also destroyed a transformer and left a section of Soweto in darkness for three days, while we stood by watching the Kenya Power and Lighting Company staff fixing the transformer:

shooting star--
we mistake its bright streak
for power return


Patrick Wafula, August 22, 2012



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thick smoke --
my eyes are drenched
with tears

she wails
on seeing burnt bodies --
Sinai inferno

oil floats on
sparkling sewage --
Ngong River

an injured boy
is lifted onto a stretcher --
rescue mission

Sinai heat --
flames bubbling in
the smokey sky

Sinai tragedy --
oil fumes linger
in the air

a pastor leads
the bereaved in prayer --
Sinai fire

Tom Mboya Hall --
a pile of burnt mabati
at the entrance

bereaved parade --
a photographer identifies
an impostor


~ Andrew Otinga
(on the Sinai Pipeline tragedy mentioned above)


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fire tragedy --
a crying child asking
for her mother

Sinai fire --
displaced children
crying for food


Authors unknown


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August cold --
a maize roaster pokes
his smouldering fire


Caleb Mutua

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on a jam
dusty matatus on a stand still -
Nakumatt blaze


Nakumatt blaze was a great supermarket fire in 2009.

Siboko Yamame

. Matatu minibus .


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Related words

***** Jiko (brazier) and makaa (charcoal)


***** WKD : Fire (kaji)
kigo for all winter in Japan


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4/15/2006

Power failure

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Power failure, power cut,
electricity rationing, blackout


***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Long rains, short rains
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation

In Kenya, we have power failures all year round, sometimes for days on end -- but when the rains start pelting down, we actually expect the power to go... (see First rainfall).

The rainy season brings power failures or power cuts, most commonly in the form of the sudden disappearance of electricity. The tropical rains being so heavy, vulnerable power lines can be damaged by the force of the floods caused by rainfall, and sometimes even masts come down. Electrical teams are in high demand at such times, and work around the clock to restore electricity as soon as possible.

Much of Kenya’s power is in the form of hydro electricity. The force of the rainfall can also damage dams, again leading to power cuts.

When generating capacity is damaged to such an extent that not sufficient power can be produced for the country, a period of electricity rationing may be declared. Newspapers carry the times when the various parts of the city and the country will not have power, and people organise their lives around the times when electricity is available. As the generating capacity of the country has considerably risen over the past decade, such periods are now few and far between.

The major schools and businesses have generators on stand-by, and these spring into action automatically, once there is no power coming through. Normal households enjoying electricity supplies have older fall-back technologies, in common with those not yet connected to the grid : candles, kerosene lamps, jiko (kerosene or charcoal brazier), gas cookers. The real nightmare is for those with fridges and freezers, as a power cut of more than 24 hours probably means that all the contents will be spoilt.

Most Kenyan homes, schools and small businesses do not yet have electricity (although this may soon change, as power lines are being expanded to many new areas) -- so that power cuts are really not all that important in the lives of ordinary Kenyans. Those homes which are connected, usually have few demands on electricity supplies -- the most important of these being light -- hence the frequent use of the word blackout to describe a power failure.


Kerosene lamp in action

Text and photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Worldwide use


power outage –
barks spiral around
the neighbourhood


- Shared by Johannes Manjrekar -
Joys of Japan, 2012



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Things found on the way



© www.wap.org/journal/blackout/

A blackout is more commonly a war time occurrence, when there may be lights used in the houses, but people try to make sure that none shows outdoors, so that the enemy planes cannot see where the houses are, where the factories or barracks are located, etc... I cannot remember this... but being a European, it is part of folk memory in that part of the world, and my parents remember it well.

~ Isabelle Prondzynski

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We had the black out from 1943 to 1955 in Japan.

black out
remembering War time
winter seclusion


Sakuo Nakamura


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HAIKU


after the rain --
cooking by candle light
in silence

power failure --
all the more visible
the full moon

candle night
hand in hand up the stairs
to find the bed


Cooking vegetables with a jiko

Haiku and photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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work pending
as blackout rages --
dark office

visitors arrive
think no one is in school --
blackout


Adelaide Luvandale


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power failure again !
the ironing wallah grabs
for the charcoals


Gabi Greve, visiting India, 1980


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power shortage --
torches glimmer in the
dark night

dark night --
people walk in the dimly
lit streets



Kelvin Mukoselo, Kenya
August 2009


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candle light
glimmers in a dark room-
power rationing

Siboko Yamame
Kenya, August 2009


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due to the current power crisis many people have resolved to the opposite
of doing stuff

power rationing--
a woman lights an old lamp
at the market

power rationing--
a long queue at the
old barber shop

water shortage--
a man whistles to a water
supply man

water shortage--
a zipless jacket abandoned
at the dry sink

two ducks feed
at a drying water pool--
dry august

hunger--
a broken pot deserted
at the well

hot terrain--
dry tear stains on the young
pokot boy


dry august--
two pokot girls battle
over wild berries


Hussein Haji, August 2009
pokot a pastrolism tribe in north kenya.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

The Pokot people
(commonly spelled Pökoot, and called Suk in older literature) live in the West Pokot and Baringo Districts of Kenya and in eastern Karamoja in Uganda.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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I grope for
our door knob-
black out


Andrew Otinga, March 2011


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power failure --
does the moonlight
outdo the candle's?


James Bundi, June 2012


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Related words


***** Jiko (both stove and brazier)

***** First rainfall, imminent rain

***** Candle Night


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7/20/2006

Stars and Night Sky

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Stars and Night Sky

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Heavens


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Explanation

It all started with a challenge from Alan Summers to the members of Kenya Saijiki on 2 March 2007 :

Can I ask something?

Can I in fact, challenge you?! ;-)

I don't know how much clear night sky you can see, because of city lights, but where I live, in Bradford on Avon, because I am near the country, there are fewer street and house lights and I can see the Milky Way, and Orion's Belt, very clearly, can you see them?

Do you have different words for stars and groups of stars?

I would love to get to see haiku that involve the stars, from very local names to regional names, maybe your own names for stars too.

I hope it is okay to set a challenge?

Your fresh haiku is very inspiring to me, and that is how every person who writes haiku should be, constantly inspired by their neighbour's haiku.

Thank you very much for allowing me to share in your haiku,

Alan

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Alan’s challenge was greeted enthusiastically, and the members of Kenya Saijiki set themselves a deadline of 30 March to submit their STARS and NIGHT SKY haiku, so that the best could be chosen and awarded prizes on 3 April 2007.

Submissions were sent to Kenya Saijiki anonymously, the identity of the students or adults only known to the authors, their Patrons and myself. Finally, all 142 haiku were handed over to Alan (backed by Gabi Greve in Japan and myself) for selection and evaluation.


The student prize winners of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge

The adults and students greeted the results at their meeting of 3 April 2007, and the happy prizewinners were cheered enthusiastically. It is encouraging that half the prizes were won by students in Form 1, who had been writing haiku for only two months or less. They have the benefit of support from their older schoolmates, who started last year, as well as from the experienced and dedicated Patrons of their haiku clubs. They are also making good use of their time in Form 1, before exam pressures begin to bite hard, particularly in Forms 3 and 4!

The prize winning haiku are to be found below -- enjoy!

Text and photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Total Eclipse of the Moon

While the Challenge was taking its course, many parts of the world were treated to a spectacular total ecliupse of the moon on 3 March 2007. News of this event reached Kenya too late, but those members of Kenya Saijiki who were at that time outside Kenya, enjoyed one of the most spectacular eclipses in years.

Isabelle Prondzynski


WKD : ECLIPSE and Haiku



Photo © Gerry Lynch
Eclipse and Haiku


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McNaught Comet

We also enjoyed information about the Comet McNaught, which had been visible in many parts of the world in January 2007 :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_McNaught

http://www.cosmopoetry.ro/comet/

The second URL takes a while to open -- it contains beautiful photos and haiku about McNaught sightings around the world.

Our no. 12 prizewinner, Walter Otieno, was one of those who saw the comet and admired its long tail -- see his haiku below.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Alan was so enthusiastic about the first entries received, that he could not resist reading some of them at the Destination : World event at the University of the West of England on 16 March 2007!
University of the West of England


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HAIKU


The Prizewinners

Students :
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With the comments of Alan Summers :

1.
----
story-telling
around the bonfire --
a shooting star

~ Anne Njoki (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Storytelling is such an important part of culture in any country, and here we have other strong words that carry so much weight, in "bonfire" and "shooting star". What a lovely atmosphere is evoked here, and that is a very important part of haiku, evoking (showing) not telling, not putting everything onto the page, yet it's all there to be read if you look for it.

2.
---
pointing at the full moon --
the baby stops crying
as she watches the moon


~ Catherine Njeri Maina (Bamboocha)

The other person doesn't need to be mentioned in any more words, because we can all imagine it is either our older brother or sister, an aunt, an uncle, or a parent, sharing the wonder of the moon with a child. Wonderful!

3.
---
a thief stealing
from our neighbour's shop --
moonlight


~ Caren Cheptoo (Bamboocha, Form 1)

This has a good allusion to a classic haiku, and I can imagine more than one meaning here. It could be a straight meaning of a thief stealing or trying to steal from a shop at night, or a thief "window shopping" at night and all he can steal is the moonlight. A good haiku is where readers can take different meanings from the poem and add a little of themselves, so a haiku is not only the shortest poem in the world, but when people share their own
meanings it also becomes the longest poem in the world!

4.
---
dark night --
people sleep
and snore

~ Felix Ogutu (Falcon)

This is packed with sounds and movement, and has that lovely sense of gentle humour that a haiku can have!

5.
---
starlit night
staring at the crescent moon
as I light the jiko

(jiko is Swahili for a brazier used for cooking and heating)

~ David Caleb Mutua (Peacock)

Ah, light on light! Wonderful. We have the starlight, and the author is about to "light" another light (the jiko) which also heats and cooks, and all the time, the author is also staring at the light of the moon!

6.
---
a woman's song --
over her garden stand
the Scorpion

~ Samuel Ndung’u (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Good simple haiku, with layers of meaning if you want to hunt for them. Of all the constellations, the author has chosen the Scorpion, intriguing, and using the great teasing serious humour that a haiku can hint at.

7.
---
late evening,
on the bumpy road --
stars in the side mirror


~ Irene Akoth (Bamboocha, Form 1)

This haiku has all the ingredients to make it a "micro novel"! The language is simple, it shows, rather than tells, which is a good thing to do with haiku, and all this without any verbs too. Remarkable!

I get sounds, smells, I'm jolted on a journey, and it reminds me of my time travelling through the Australian Bush in the Northern Territory!

8.
---
in a trough --
a moth flaps its wings
shaking the stars

~ Raymond Otieno (Bamboocha)

I love "shaking the stars"! This haiku contains an important part of haiku, and that is the life / death cycle, and what better choice than a moth, but not one burnt in a candle, but in water, flapping, and shaking the stars. Many levels to appreciate here on re-readings too!

9.
---
silent night --
no noise apart from light
from the moon


~ Joan Barasa (Peacock)

We may not really "hear" the moon, or even the stars in the night sky, but I love "no noise apart from light from the moon"! There is in fact a sound we can pick up by scientific means, but a poet always does the same without needing them!

10.
----
spread over the sky,
showing Abraham’s descendants --
uncountable


~ Leonard Imboyoka (Falcon)

This is quite a different style of haiku, and I like "Abraham's descendants", very original. After all, aren't we all one people, and as numerous as the stars? A very good original haiku.

11.
----
slowly, lovers
walking in the darkness --
a falling star


~ John Mwangi (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Good use of grammar. I am transported immediately, and feel an empathy, a sharing, of the experience.

12.
----
across the clear sky --
the long glowing tail
of a comet


~ Walter Otieno (Bamboocha)

What a wonderful image and sense of atmosphere this conjures up.

13.
----
dark-blue sky,
full of twinkling stars --
barking dogs

~ Anne (Falcon)

I like the fact that it is both a fact there are barking dogs, but that I could also think of the stars as barking dogs! Great metaphor, whether intended or not, it's something that occurs in a well written poem.

14.
----
children playing
outside without fear --
full moon


~ Mary Obwamo (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Very beautiful!

15.
----
the donkey braying
on the narrow path --
starry dawn


~ Vivian Adhiambo (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Very real!

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Adults :
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Adult prizewinners of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge

1.
---
a twilight girl
running on the street --
glittering stars

~ James Macharia (Bahati)

I love the stunning "a twilight girl" which falls headlong into a great poem!

2.
---
moon and stars
the only witnesses --
two lovers eloping

~ Patrick Wafula (Patron, Bamboochas)

Very very atmospheric!

3.
---
clouds move
some stars are covered
it darkens


~ Adelaide Luvandale (Patron, Peacocks)

A very chilling, moody, atmospheric last line, I love it!

4.
---
clouds move slowly
unveiling a lone bright star
in the west


~ Anne Nechesa (Patron, Peacocks)

I really like that word choice of "unveiling" which extends the poem, an important technique in such a short poetry form as a haiku.


Congratulations to all!

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Other entries
------------------

Students :
--------------

pale dawn --
the Scorpion paving
way for the sun

my brother jumping
on the corridor,
clapping at Gemini

~ Anne Njoki (Bamboocha, Form 1)


comets around
shining moon --
wakes the crickets

twinkling stars --
fireflies glow around
full moon

~ Depporah Mocheche (Bamboocha)


under the flowers --
cry of crickets and
twinkling stars above

over our house --
round face of the moon
peering between clouds

~ Raymond Otieno (Bamboocha)


in the sky --
round face of the moon
among twinkling stars

the moon behind
dark clouds, few stars --
more darkness

dark-blue sky --
moon rising from
behind cypress trees

a young boy gazing
at the glittering stars --
full moon

a cold breeze
under the twinkling sky --
a shooting star

~ Catherine Njeri Maina (Bamboocha)


out at night,
looking towards heaven --
the Gemini

twinkling stars,
pattern in the sky --
the Orion

at night
over the shop
light of Scorpion

twinkle twinkle,
little star in the sky --
I wonder what you are

I see light,
no lamp around --
but the moon

what is that
above the sky --
shooting star

my brother talking
in his sleep -
ray of moonlight

Sabastian
opening the door at night --
moonlight

~ Samuel Ndung’u (Bamboocha, Form 1)


shooting star
across the dark-blue sky --
silent night

bright moon,
Orion blinking --
peaceful night

glowing stars
on a cloudless blue floor --
sound of crickets

bright night,
Orion sparkling --
sleeping dogs

~ Cyprian Awino (Bamboocha)


singing and playing
in the wheat field --
the southern cross

late from trip,
we yawn and laugh --
the crescent

warm bright night -
charm and splendour
from the stars

~ Irene Akoth (Bamboocha, Form 1)


in the lawn, parent giving
advice to her young ones --
a shooting star

streak of lightning,
cutting across the dark sky --
night rain

bats flap their wings
across the full moon --
children singing

~ Mary Obwamo (Bamboocha, Form 1)


a shooting star,
interrupting the dark night --
lighted faces

~ Francis Mwangangi (Bamboocha, Form 1)


an aeroplane
passing in the sky --
glittering stars

Sharon
washing cloths outside --
shooting star

a child crying
somewhere in the darkness --
glittering sky

Caren
looking up the sky --
a half moon

~ Caren Cheptoo (Bamboocha, Form 1)


story time --
children laugh at fireplace
as moon shines

jumping up and down,
children admiring the bright moon --
hour before dinner

~ Frederick Mwale (Bamboocha, Form 1)


beautiful sky --
glittering stars spreading
throughout the heavens

~ Caroline Wanjiru (Falcon)


a clear sky,
stars twinkle brightly --
morning star

the sky is blue
like still water in a lake --
glittering stars

~ Carolyne Wangui (Falcon)


up the sky --
stars twinkle and shine
forming beautiful patterns

~ Beatrice Wanjiku (Falcon)


a dull sky
with no moon -
dull night

~ Milly Wambui (Falcon)


the sky at night --
falling stars twinkle
brightly

~ Joseph Musombi (Falcon)


high stars shining,
round-shaped moon --
children playing outdoors

watchmen well armed,
light shining from the sky --
chilly night

~ Margret Wanjiru (Falcon)


bright blue sky,
studded with diamonds --
Venus

~ Joyce Ng’amure (Falcon)


cloudy sky,
stars not twinkling --
cold night breeze

~ Hillary Indako (Falcon)


blue sky,
stars twinkle high--
half moon

~ John Okwaro (Falcon)


shiny tiny dim lights,
scattered all over the blue sky --
play song of children

children cheering
at spectacular cluster of stars --
their play song

~ Boniface Mutua (Falcon)


a serene sky --
yells and screams break the silence,
waking Jane

bats gnash their teeth,
searching for their dinner
under the night sky

~ Patrick Gakuo (Falcon)


clouds in the sky,
storm is about to strike --
thunder bolt

~ Lucy Maina (Falcon)


in a bright sky,
moon hanging lonesomely --
serenity

~ Nancy Akinyi (Falcon)


stars twinkle
producing light
that shines in the sky

~ Hamza Shaban (Falcon)


the blue sky
glittering with stars --
silent night

when darkness knocks,
stars open and glitter --
night splendour

~ Rebecca Syokau (Falcon)


the moon
looking through blue eyes --
flashing diamonds

~ Jane Njeri (Bamboocha Form 1)


dark clouds
blocking the moonlight --
night drizzle

~ Mercy Wangui (Peacock)


at night --
the dog barks at
the shining moon

~ Josephine Wanjiku (Peacock)


husband and wife
arguing loudly --
starry night

~ Anne Wairimu (Peacock)


people chasing
cattle rustlers --
starry night

~ Stephen Nzomo (Peacock)


the watchman
lighting a fire --
full moon

Kioko bathing
in cold water at night…
the stars

~ Sarah Adero (Peacock)


stressed Grace
crying in her dark room --
bright stars

~ Irene Muthengi (Peacock)


in the morning,
my brother preparing to go to school --
morning star

at night
our young brother crying --
moonlight

~ Grace Nyambura (Peacock)


the bright moon
and few glittering stars
on a cloudy night

from the cardinal points
lays the dull sky with
very shiny stars

it is very silent
clouds seem to be moving
and the stars glitter

quietly the moon shines
as the stars glitter beautifully
making the sky wonderful

how wonderful
is the sky with millions
of glittering stars

the sky is clear
stars make it wonderful
as they glitter

meteorites shift
from point to point --
dim moom appears

cloudish sky --
stars glitter in the distance,
where is the moon

clear sky
with cloudish patterns --
beautiful stars glitter

the moon doesn't
appear its late but stars
still glitter silently

silence in the sky
stars glitter quietly making
the sky beautiful

~ Hussein Hajji (Peacock)


after the sunset
crickets make a lot of noise
welcome the bright sky

on the shiny stars
lighting up the whole village
business continues

attracting the eye
one in the midst of many
sharing to light up

~ Loise Wangeci (Peacock)


it is at night
moon shines brightly
a wonderful night

~ Jacinta Minoo (Peacock)


the twinkling stars
shining on a blue broaad sky
many stars shining

~ Barrack Elungata (Peacock)


silent bright sky
the night is beautiful
there is no rain

~ Anonymous (Peacock)


how cold is today
the cloud covering the sky
signs of rain

where are the stars
clouds hiding them
a lot of darkness

area with light
coming from stars
the light in the streets

how lightful is the moon
a lot of light from
it and stars

beautiful clouds
hiding the stars --
the moon shines

stars everywhere
shining and glittering --
stars are beautiful

how bright is the moon
glittering a lot of light --
moon is bright

~ Sebastian Kimeu (Peacock)


the night is bright
the stars are glittering all over
there is silence

the sky is bright
the moon and the stars are
glittering leaving a bright light

the sky is bright
because of the moon
and the glittering stars

the dark has covered
the sky leaving the dark all over --
no moon or stars

the sky is silent --
stars are glittering very brightly
and the moon is shining

bright sky --
light all over from
moon and stars

sky full of brightness --
the stars are glittering
and the moon shining

~ Joan Barasa (Peacock)


stars all over
in the blue beautiful sky
they are lovely

beautiful sky
stars shining all over
the night is bright

~ Kelvin Mukoselo (Peacock)


full moon
that is the Gods touch
mama tells me

sky-blue
countless stars shining overhead
God knows their name!

beautiful starry night
shooting stars burning bright
what a scene!

~ David Caleb Mutua (Peacock)


silence up there --
lonely moon shivers
as stars glitter quietly

as stars glitter
the moon appears late at nine --
silence up there

clear sky --
stars accompany
the lonely moon

lonely is the moon
and the sky with glittering stars --
the moon appears

lonely moon --
the stars scattered all over,
making it beautiful

stretching from
north to south pole, the dark sky
is seen with dim moon

~ Peris Wanjiru (Peacock)


the lonely stars
all the night --
glittering sky

uncountable stars
moving from one end,
making the sky beautiful

I see the stars
as they glitter
all night

I see the stars
randomly moving --
glittering hours

the bright stars
over the clouds,
as they glitter

~ Mary Sharon (Peacock)


moon in the sky
produce light at night while
the stars shine all over

how beautiful stars are
at night glittering and shining
while moon produces light

~ Peris Njeri (Peacock)


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vast dark-blue roof
studded with glittering lights --
night sky

~ Patrick Wafula (Patron, Bamboochas)


young people
dancing together --
kililimbi night

(kililimbi is Swahili for "flame" -- fire or liveliness)


shooting in the street,
a thief killed --
bright moon

~ James Macharia (Bahati)


stars shine
we have full moon
I see a passing star

on the horizon
I see stars and moon
it's very beautiful

it's very bright
though its midnight
I see full moon

~ Adelaide Luvandale (Patron Peacocks)


lighting the sky
little stars twinkle
in bright clusters

falling from the sky
the bright star shines
to unknown destination

~ Anne Nechesa (Patron Peacocks)


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Alan Summers, the originator of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge, also published our results in his own Blog, Area 17, thus opening them to a new readership :

http://area17.blogspot.com/



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Related words

***** .. .. .. .. MOON and its LINKS..

***** ..... Southern Cross

***** Leonid Meteor Shower .. .. Geminid Meteor Shower


Haiku Clubs of Nairobi


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THE KENYA SAIJIKI
Please send your contributions to
Gabi Greve / Isabelle Prondzynski
worldkigo .....

Back to the Worldkigo Index

3/25/2010

Sufuria cooking pot

[ . BACK to worldkigo TOP . ]
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Sufuria cooking pot

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation

A Sufuria (Swahili plural sufuria, English plural sufurias)
is a Swahili language word, adopted in East African English, for a flat based, deep sided, lipped and handleless cooking pot or container or saucepan, ubiquitous in Kenya, parts of Tanzania and surrounding nations.A replacement for more traditional crockery containers (ek fara), it used in most every Kenyan household for cooking, serving and storing food.
Most Sufuria are today aluminum, produced and purchased locally in the informal sector.
Sufuria were traditionally used to cook over open fire, charcoal brazier (a jiko), or coals, and are purchased in a variety of sizes, with and without lids.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !





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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way



Frying flying termintes
in a sufuria



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HAIKU


Kenya Saijiki Fourm


hot tea from sufuria
scalds my brother --
chilly morning


Anne Wairimu
April 2007


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lovely new morning -
frying pans and sufurias
this is Christmas day


Jacinta Minoo
January 2007

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warm steam from
the boiled maize sufuria--
evening showers


Hussein Haji

Maize Haiku


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Related words

***** -- Jiko (brazier)


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5/28/2010

Haiku Lesson Two

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. HAIKU LESSONS
Caleb Mutua
 


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Haiku Lesson Two : KIGO

by Caleb Mutua

Introduction

Kigo is a word indicating the season in which the haiku is written. It does not only refer to bees, butterflies, green plants ctc. but to their changes within each season. Season words include the seasonal aspects in human life, such as ceremonies and festivals, lifestyle and food, as they change within the seasons. Traditional Japanese haiku are about the changes of the season (not simply about nature !! ) and the season words help to express this change. Because a kigo is very important in a haiku, it is sometimes called the lifeblood of the haiku, or the navel of the haiku. By using season words that reflect the nature of our country and its changes, the ceremonies and festivals we celebrate, we tell the world about our culture and way of life through haiku. It is therefore, very important for us to use Kenyan kigo that fit our cultural background.

Saijiki
is a collection of season words. In Kenya, we have already started collecting season words. All haijin are requested to be conscious of their environment in order to identify new season words that can be added in Kenya Saijiki; even in Japan there are now movements to collect new kigo from rural areas, to compile "local saijiki" with local kigo. The following are some of the season words in their respective seasons that Kenyan haijin have collected.


Hot dry season
(roughly November to March, with January being the hottest month)

Buying school uniforms, Cassia blossom, Caterpillar, Hairy Caterpillar, Census, Christmas, Dust , Exam results, Form One entrants and monolisation, Frangipani, Plumeria, Goat Meat, Jamhuri Day (12 December), January, Maasai Cattle, Green Maize, Mango, New Year, Paying school fees, Peaches, Plums, Start of new school year , Sweating, Water shortage , drought, World AIDS Day


Long rains (roughly March to May)
Bombax blossom , First rainfall, Imminent rain, Bullfrogs, Easter, Flooding, Flying ants or termites, Gumboots, Heavy raindrops Ibis (Hadada), Labour Day, Mosquitoes, Mud, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Power failure, Puddle, Stepping stones, Umbrella


Cool dry season
(roughly from June to September, with July being the coldest month)

Avocado pear (Kikuyu : Mûkorobîa), Bukusu Initiation / Circumcision, Day of the African Child (16 June), Dust, Frangipani, Plumeria, freezing Jiko (brazier), Maasai Cattle (Masai Cattle), Maize, Green Maize, Martyrs’ Day Uganda, Nairobi Bomb Day (7 August), Nairobi International Trade Fair (end of September),Oranges (Swahili Mchungwa), Sesbania Tree (Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.), start of University year… (Please suggest more season words)


Short rains (roughly October and November)
Aramanthus,Bullfrogs, First rainfall, Imminent rain, Ocober rain, Flamboyant tree, Flooding, Flying ants or termites, Graduation ceremony, Gumboots, Jacaranda blossom, Heavy raindrops, Kenyatta Day, Moi Day, Mosquitoes, Mud, Nairobi Marathon, Power failure. Puddles, School exams: KCSE / KCPE, Stepping stones, Tipu tree, Umbrella


One season word is enough in haiku. Ensure you have used a SEASON WORD and not the name of the SEASON. For instance: use mud, umbrella or puddle and not “rainy season” because the words themselves reflect that season.



. HAIKU LESSONS
Caleb Mutua
 

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8/05/2006

Tea in Kenya

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Tea (Swahili : chai)

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: non-seasonal Topic
***** Category: Plant / Humanity


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Explanation


Tea, for Kenyans, is first of all a drink. For most Kenyans, it is also part of the landscape. For many, it is something they own, a job, an income. For several big companies, it is big business. For foreigners, Kenya is the place of origin of much of the tea on the world market (see the Black Tea from Kenya entry in the Worldkigo Database below).

Tea, in Kenya, is prepared by mixing water and cold milk 50 : 50 in a sufuria (saucepan) and heating the mixture on a jiko (brazier) or cooker. Once the mixture boils, a handful of majani (tea leaves) is generously added, the tea left to simmer for a moment or two, after which the whole is poured through a strainer (see photo below) and into a thermos flask, from which it is served into mugs, stirring in a good double spoonful of sugar. That is tea (Swahili : chai). In Mombasa, tea is often spiced with tea masala and tastes very similar to the masala tea drunk in India.


© PHOTO http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/kenya/eating.html

Those few who do not take sugar in their tea, drink ndubia (Kikuyu), called sugarless tea in English. Only the poorest people drink turungi (Kikuyu), called true tea or strong tea in English, and containing neither milk nor sugar.

Tea in Kenya is a meal for the many who are not able to eat several times a day. A short prayer may be said before taking tea together. The milk and sugar make it quite filling, and a mug or two keeps people going for hours until they can eat. Every Kenyan greets a visitor with a cup of tea, and it is not polite to decline the offer. Family hospitality takes place with mugs of tea, church services end with cups of tea, the luckier office workers and their visitors are served a mug of tea mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Tea in Kenya grows at higher altitudes. One does not have to travel far outside Nairobi (but very far if starting from Mombasa) before meeting the first tea plantations. Much of Kenya’s tea is grown by smallholders, encouraged by effective government schemes, providing a reasonable income and ensuring places at school for many Kenyan children. Other tea plantations are in the hands of large international companies, employing many workers, who are housed with their families on the plantation, and whose children attend the company schools.


Tea growing in Limuru
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

The tea plantations, whether large or small, invariably look beautiful. Unlike those of Japan, the tea bushes grow up to a certain height, where they form a plateau at roughly hip level, through which the pickers walk, picking always two leaves and a bud, every seventeen days, as the tea plants continue to grow all year round in the favourable climate of Kenya. From time to time, the tree bushes are cut back very low and given several seasons to regrow before being picked again.

Tree plantations are normally mixed with eucalyptus or blue gums, as the tea factories need firewood to dry the tea leaves. This makes the landscape look interesting and varied, and makes good use of renewable resources.

There are many tea processors in Kenya, large and small, and always very busy. The co-operative tea processors give their members a chance to buy back a limited amount of processed tea leaves at a low price for their own use, which is greatly appreciated. Most tea is sold as small tea leaves, although teabags have become quite popular too. While black tea is the regular tea of Kenya, green tea is beginning to make first inroads. The high quality of Kenya tea is recognised in many countries. Even though most of it is still blended together with tea leaves from other countries, an increasing amount is now sold as Kenya tea and gaining an excellent reputation abroad.

Text © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Compiled by James Bundi, September 2016

most of the information is collected from Kirinyaga County, Central Province, Kenya.

INTRODUCTION
Kenya is the World’s third largest Tea producer with an average of 303,308 tonnes per year. Kenya’s production is mainly on small farms,less than an acre and this accounts for 90% of its production.
Tea was introduced in Kenya as early as 1903 by European Settler G.W Caine who was experimenting by planting a few tea bushes on a small 2 acre parcel of land in Limuru, Kiambu District. Lowlands are too hot for tea growing hence Tea growing is in highlands. The rich, red volcanic soil provides the perfect base, while the cooler air with ample moisture provides everything necessary for tea leaves to flourish.
The common variety of tea in Kenya is the Black tea. Recently, purple Tea was introduced in Kenya. The first test plantation for purple tea in Kenya, is at Kangaita Tea Factory in Kirinyaga County. The Purple tea is believed to be more nutritional and of more medicinal value than the black tea.
Even though tea grows all year round in Kenya, we have specific season when tea is supposed to be planted, when tea picking is at its peak and the pruning season. To gain more information on this I visited Kimunye Tea Factory in Kirinyaga County.

a distant hum
at the tea factory's gate--
Kimunye's dawn

factory’s office--
a rusty smell of tea leaves
hit my nose

Most of us are familiar with the final product; processed Tea, but it is all a product of a lengthy process from tea planting to processing. You can now get a hot cup of tea and relax as we learn together. It reminds me …

I slowly whirl
it in a sufuria --
morning tea

1. Tea planting.
Cuttings from mature plants are planted in a nursery that is then covered with a polythene bag and left to sprout and develop roots. This mostly takes three months. The nursery is then uncovered and watered for some days before they are transplanted.
Tea is planted 1.5 meters apart. So before the bushes develop, farmers can also use it for other meaningful ways.

planted in rows
in between the tea bushes--
young spinach

It is then left to manure with intervals of weeding and manuring if necessary.

foot paths
segments this sloppy land --
Chuka tea

(Chuka is in Meru County.I collected this on my way to Meru.)

black stripes
at a distant green field--
pathways

2. Tea picking.
When the planted tea matures, it is then picked. In Kenya, most of the tea is handpicked. Females are the most frequent tea pickers. They are preferred over men since tea picking requires tender care on the leaves, skills and patience.
The standards of tea picking dictate that only two leaves and its bud should be picked. This attributes to the excellent quality of tea produced. The picked tea is usually placed on airy baskets that are usually carried on the back of the tea pickers.

a shinny droplet
on this curled tea leaf --
morning dew

infection?--
a yellow patched leaf
on this tea bush

3. Pruning
After a continuous picking of tea for five (5) years, it’s most advisable to prune the tea bushes for the first time. The pruned tea bushes take three (3) months to sprout and be ready for picking. Then a cycle of pruning after every three (3) years is followed. This is done by laborers using special designed pangas. Pruning is done from 15th June to 15th August. This is the cold season when tea bushes aren’t productive.

a brown patch
on the vast green land---
pruned tea bushes

4. Weighing
The picked tea is then taken to weighting centres commonly known as Tea Buying centres. They are located at a central place for a given number of farmers. Approximately 200 farmers are served in one weighting centre. The farmers are issued with a receipt that indicates the day’s weight and the accumulated weight for the month.

5. Transportation
Tea leaves are transported using Lorries that have vertical bars that have hooks. The hook holds the airy-sisal tea bags. The lorries then take the tea-leaves to the factory.

6. Withering
Once the tea leaves are at the factory, they are weighed again. They are then spread on trays in the factory to allow withering. Fans are used to pump hot air under the trays. During rainy seasons, tea withering takes 10 hours and on normal occasions, it takes 6 to 8 hours.

I feel warmth
at my left ankle--

withering section

7. Shredding
The withered tea leaves are then passed through the shredding machine and reduced to the desired sizes. It’s in this stage that the factory can determine the kind of tea they are willing to produce. The common produce is the black cut-tear-curl -tea (black C.T.C tea). We also got Orthodox tea. This type requires the leaf to be as whole as possible.
Orthodox tea requires closely monitored rolling of the leaves. It’s important to note that, the bigger the tea particle the better the quality. Therefore, orthodox tea tops in terms of quality.

8. Fermentation
In the fermentation stage, the finely cut, teared and curled tea is slowly moved over conveyor belts over a period of 90 to 110 minutes. The enzymes in the tea leaves and the accumulated heat make the tea turn brown. This is as a result of reaction of enzymes and oxygen. This is what fermentation is all about.
Fanning is limited since it makes the tea’s flavor evaporate.

9. Drying
The fermented tea is the passed through hot chambers for drying. Most importan, the heat kills the enzymes, to avoid further fermentation. The tea also turns from brown to black. The drying reduces the moisture content of the tea to 3.25%

10. Sorting
The dry black tea is then passed through sieves and this hence results to different grades of tea. The larger particles are collected on top while the finest tea is collected on the bottom-most sieve.
The common grades are Black Pekoe- BP1 (Largest in size), PF1 (Second largest size) and Pekoe Dust-PD (Finest). The commonly consumed grade in Kenya is PF1. The most concentrated grade is PD which is mostly consumed by Arabs. This grade cannot be sieved using the home-used sieves since it’s dust-like.

11. Cupping
Cupping is done in the quality control department. It involves checking the liquor, the infusion and the make. Liquor helps test the briskness of tea, infusion tests the brightness of tea while the make is used to check the neatness of tea.
And there you go!! We got the final product. Tea!

From all this we can confidently derive the seasons in tea cultivation.
1. Tea planting – Long Rains.
2. Pruning – 15th June to 15th August – Cold season.
3. Peak Harvesting – May and October – Rainy season.
4. Production – May and October – Rainy season.

It is important to know that, if you want to avoid taking lot of caffeine, boil your water and milk if need be. When ready, you can then add tea leaves and stir as we always do when sugaring tea cups.Therefore avoid boiling tea leaves to reduce caffeine intake.
Now, won't you have another tea cup??
James Bundi

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Great introduction to tea growing and its history in Kenya :
http://www.batianpeakcoffee.com/about_kenya_tea.html


... and how it could become even more environmentally friendly :
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/41060/story.htm

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Valuable information here about the different grades of tea and the relevant abbreviations :
http://www.ktdateas.com/thetea.asp?pageid=2

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Kenya tea from Ketepa (Kenya Tea Packers) for sale by internet -- the first two items are the real thing, much loved in Kenya itself :

http://www.kenyateabags.com/categories.asp?cID=1

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Worldwide use

Black Tea worldwide


Ireland

My other home, Ireland, also comes into this picture...! Read more :


http://yositeru.com/40travel/10overseas/200508ireland/ireland_2.htm

The Irish Love Affair with Tea

by Pat Friend

What country has the highest per capita consumption of tea in the world? Do you think it's China where the use of tea leaves to make a hot stimulating beverage was discovered? No. Maybe Japan with its wonderful traditions of the Tea Ceremony? No again. That must mean that it's Ireland where the average daily consumption is six cups a tea, or 3.2 kg (7 lbs.) a year!

Ireland's close ties to tea have their roots in the country's history as a part of the British Empire. When it was first imported to Ireland in 1835 it was quite expensive and only within the reach of the most affluent. Eventually the price came down, though, and the drink's popularity spread. Tea houses opened around Ireland and loose tea was sold in local grocery stores as it became the fashionable drink for all occasions.

More here :
http://allaboutirish.com/library/foodbev/affairtea.shtm

Compiled by Isabelle Prondzynski


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Things found on the way


The word "tea"

The Chinese character for tea is , but it is pronounced differently in the various Chinese dialects. Two pronunciations have made their way into other languages around the world. One is tê, which comes from the Amoy Min Nan dialect, spoken around the port of Xiamen (Amoy). This pronunciation is believed to come from the old words for tea 梌 (tú) or 荼 (tú). The other is chá, used by the Cantonese dialect spoken around the ports of Guangzhou (Canton), Hong Kong, Macau, and in overseas Chinese communities, as well as in the Mandarin dialect of northern China. This term was used in ancient times to describe the first flush harvest of tea. Yet another different pronunciation is zu, used in the Wu dialect spoken around Shanghai.

More here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea


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HAIKU


Almost all the following haiku were written for a contest, organised by Chajin in Paris in May 2007, on the theme of TEA :
http://www.chajin-online.com/



Here are the contest details :
http://www.chajin-online.com/haiku2007.php


sunday --
tea and a read
in silence

soft wind --
the barest stirring of the
young tea leaves


~ Isabelle Prondzynski
(7th prize in the English language section)

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hot tea
burns my throat --
cold morning

hot tea from sufuria
scalds my brother --
chilly morning

chilly morning --
hot tea flows down
my throat slowly

~ Anne Wairimu (Bamboocha)

in the hotel,
people happily sipping tea --
cold morning



child crying
for milky tea --
cold morning

in a wedding,
people sipping tea slowly --
rainy evening

in the funeral,
my sister preparing tea --
cold evening

happy looking
guys sipping tea in a hotel --
evening tea

my mother carrying
a huge packet of tea leaves --
rainy season

in the staffroom,
teachers sipping tea slowly --
rainy afternoon

my father picking
tea leaves in the garden --
chilly morning

my father slowly
sipping tea in the sitting room --
chilly evening

our family
sipping tea happily --
my birthday

~ Caren Cheptoo (Bamboocha)

abashment,
sodas limited --
strong tea supplements

slowly sipping
hot strong tea --
a cock crows

a large mug
of hot strong tea --
a cow lows

attractive
tea bags on a shelf --
a woman picks one

~ Catherine Maina (Bamboocha)





cold morning --
a child shivers holding
a cup of hot tea

happy mother
pours sweet scented tea --
drizzly morning

tired father --
longs for a cup of tea
after work

~ Cyprian Awino (Bamboocha)

drizzling morning --
cold hands shaking with
a cup of hot tea


~ Deborah Mocheche (Bamboocha)

hot tea
warms my stomach --
sweet flavour

~ Francis Mwangangi (Bamboocha)

cold morning --
student drinking
hot tea

cold evening --
a man drinks tea from
a huge mug


~ Irene Muthengi (Bamboocha)

cold morning,
child drinking hot tea --
scalded lips

cold morning --
a child struggles to drink
hot tea

sleepless night --
child struggles after
drinking black tea

child wets his bed
after drinking tea --
spanking

cold evening --
a child stealing hot tea
with fear

~ Irene Oketch (Bamboocha)

in the kitchen,
sweet smell of
milky tea

my mother
preparing tea --
birthday party


~ Jane (Bamboocha)

cold evening --
people buying tea
from hotel

cold breeze --
mother preparing tea
under the tree

rainy morning --
mother eating mandazi
with tea with zeal


~ Jane Mumbua (Bamboocha)

early morning --
tea cups on the table,
cockroach falls in

children eagerly
waiting for tea on stove --
no fuel

~ John Mwangi (Bamboocha)

rainy season --
a child cries for tea
due to cold

cold evening --
scent of tea from
the kitchen

cold morning --
teachers happily taking
tea in the staffroom


~ Michael Bwoga (Bamboocha)

breezy morning --
my brother takes
hot tea

rainy day --
my cries for
tea

sipping hot
black tea --
rainy day

cold morning --
cook serving teachers
hot tea

~ Moses Makila (Bamboocha)

guest happily
sipping hot tea --
wedding day

cold day --
people basking around
the fire drinking hot tea

~ Ruth Wanjiku (Bamboocha)

my brother drinking
hot tea burns his mouth --
cold morning

before bed --
walking to the kitchen
to have hot tea

rubbing my eyes --
I walk to the kitchen
to prepare tea

cool evening --
visitors happily drinking
strong tea

in the hotel --
people drinking tea with
huge mandazi

~ Samuel Ndung'u (Bamboocha)

cold morning --
women picking tea
in the field





sweat on my brother's
brow as drinks hot tea --
cold morning

cold morning --
men in a meeting
taking black tea


~ Sarah (Bamboocha)

at dawn,
mother preparing tea --
happy children

drizzling --
a beggar tightly clings to
a mug of hot tea


~Simon Magak (Bamboocha)

chilly morning --
teapickers picking
green leaves

cold morning --
students sipping hot tea
in the school kitchen


~ Stephen Nzomo (Bamboocha)

tea pickers
on a chilly morning --
rustling of fallen leaves

chilly morning --
happy shopkeepers
selling tea leaves


~ Susan Wangui (Bamboocha)

rainy day --
visitors happily sip
a cup of black tea

cold morning --
mother preparing a cup
of black tea


~ Truphosah Osendi (Bamboocha)

drizzly morning --
my sister and I quarrel
over too little tea

~ Vivian Adhiambo (Bamboocha)

clanking tea cups
in the café ready to be filled --
chilly morning


~ David Wandera (Bamboocha)

hard at work
picking tea leaves --
no more rest

children sing
waiting for tea --
cool evening

~ Jeremiah Osewe (Bamboocha)

hot tea --
my weary and tired mother
blows and sips

cloudy sky,
people sipping tea in a kiosk --
sweating on the nose


a white mug with
scratch marks at the bottom --
tea every morning

~ Raymond Otieno (Bamboocha)
(Placed within the top third of the English language entries)


chilly day --
hot tea taken
by everyone

any time you want
to have a cup of tea --
the thermos is full

the stove is off --
hot tea is served
in April rain

~ Mary Obwamo (Bamboocha)

cold morning --
my brother taking strong tea
at the fire place

cold afternoon --
women singing as they take
tea outside the house


~ Sarah Adero (Bamboocha)

chilly weather --
teachers around the table
taking tea


~ John Mwangi (Bamboocha)

watchman sipping
a cup of hot tea in a mug --
a cricket chirps

wednesday morning --
tea pickers queue for
payment


~ Walter Otieno (Bamboocha)

each family
gather in the morning
drinking more tea

cups filled
with tea waiting
for sweet bread


~ Kelvin Mukoselo (Peacock)

tea --
blackish bitter herbal
medicine


~ Caleb David Mutua (Peacock)

rainy season --
farmers till land
to plant tea

~ Maurice Opondo (Peacock)

frothy tea
boiling in the kettle --
the lid rises


~ Gladys Kathini (Peacock)

cold morning --
smoke up the kitchen,
mother preparing tea


il est huit heures
je fais mes devoirs
je prends du thé

~ Elung'ata Barrack (Peacock)

adjourd’hui matin
je prends un grand gobelet
de thé


~ Kamau Muthoni (Peacock)

early morning
children take hot tea --
steam


~ Gladys Kathini (Peacock)

tea plantation --
green plants in rows
down the slope


~ Edward Mong'are (Peacock)

row upon row --
two fingers pluck
green tea


~ Mr Kasera (Peacock)

today is cold
what will I do
take tea


~ Sebastian (Peacock)

in the cafe
they use teabags to make
tea very sweet

at school
students having tea break
feeling active


~ Dorine Atieno (Peacock)

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cups on the table --
it's time to serve tea
for breakfast


~ Nechesa Anne (Patron, Peacocks)

preparing
for night studies --
black tea

tea stains
on my documents --
ten o'clock tea

dripping from rain,
I'm handed a cup of hot tea...
clap of thunder

taking tea under
the tree after work --
evening cool

our white porcelain
mugs stained brown --
strong tea

round brown rings on
white cafe table formica --
milky tea mugs

my neighbour
recuperating from illness --
cup of tea in hand


~ Patrick Wafula (Patron, Bamboochas)

green everywhere --
tea plantation ready
for harvesting

tea leaves plucked
by many ladies --
children on their back



© PHOTO Dave Blumenkrantz

I take tea --
very delicious
breakfast

~ Adelaide Luvandale

great moments
lively discussion
powered by tea

holding teacup
kissing it frequently
downloading content


~ Anthony Njoroge


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Related words

***** Tea, Black Tea worldwide

***** Iced Coffee, aisu-koohii (Japan) Hot Coffee

***** Sufuria cooking pot

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