Kitengela headquarters blew my mind. It’s like something out of a Tim Burton film-- a fantastical world contained entirely within itself—but minus the macabre and with the added plus that this place EXISTS and is REAL. Set off by itself in the dusty Athi Plain about 7 km from any paved road, the first thing you see is the top of its giant brick dome. Nani Croze, one of Kitengela’s founders, gave me a tour of the studio/gallery/residence/zoo. They make everything you can think of out of glass- from beads and glassware to mosaics, chandeliers, and large-scale sculpture. Everything is recycled and they train and employ people from the local community for both the experimental and commercial parts of the business. Truly incredible. Here's what greets you at the start of the driveway. Note the top of the dome, which houses Kitengela's roaring furnace, in the background to the right of the sculpture.
The recycling ethos extends to the bio-gas contraption far beyond the house, past the vegetable garden and the pig pens, which turns let’s say waste matter of all kinds (and they HAVE all kinds- turkey, duck, cow, pig, dog, vulture, chicken, hyrax) into natural gas that they cook and light the kilns with.
One of the many little hidden walkways. Embellishment everywhere.
Beautiful mirrored glass mosaic floor.
