Craft It · 2013–2023
Archived stories
Ten years of Kenyans and the things they make by hand: makers, Nairobi and Kampala, motherhood, dusty rugs and the conversations in between. 300 stories, brought back online.
2015Craft ItCraft ItArt and CraftOur mothers raise us with the best of what they know about being mums. Nobody is taught to be a mum. It’s…2015Craft ItCraft ItBroads, bumps and bellowsKale women don’t scream. No, we don’t. We never scream. Decorum dictates that we approach intense situations with a quiet passion. A…2015Craft ItCraft ItMore guns than rosesBefore I became a writer, I worked with a global professional services firm in the Assurance line of service. (Ha, I just…2015Craft ItCraft ItVaselineIt’s 5.00a.m. The entr’acte between dusk and dawn. The blanket of the night is peeling away slowly to reveal the glorious shine…2015Craft ItCraft ItSay UncleI wonder what it was like for her, the day when my Mum stopped being a child. Was it one of those…2015Craft ItCraft ItRated RDo you remember those old days when the family was in the living room catching some evening local TV and the kissing…2015Craft ItCraft ItThere’s a worm in my bougainvilleaElizabeth. A name with as much poise as it demands from when you first say it. Elizabeth. It’s regal. Authoritative. Discerning. A…2015Craft ItCraft ItSotik, 1976When the ad agency asked me to write twice a week about ‘My Mother and I’, I knew right away this wasn’t…2015Craft ItCraft ItTuesday morningsMid last February, a local ad agency contacted me about a writing gig. Yeah to that. The agency was launching a campaign…2015Craft ItCraft ItSuits and monikersYou call him your Ol’Man. The Ol’Man. It’s a hip moniker. You don’t recall that uber hip person who first ran with…2015Craft ItCraft It13 weeks laterI am pregnant. 3 months – 13 weeks and 6 days in as I write this. Nothing about me was ready for…2015Craft ItCraft ItSmile, Woman. SmileI am one of those people who have gone through life looking at things with their two front teeth. Buck teeth. That’s…2015Craft ItCraft ItFlattened breasts and forgotten egosLet me tell you the story about a girl of ambition I once knew. She was stubborn and young. Positive, she saw…2014Craft ItCraft ItYou lie, there is no right or wrong answerIt’s the holiday season. You are late (as you always are these days) in sending this piece to publish. So let’s get…2014Craft ItCraft ItWarning: this is not a toyAt certain hours of a regular workday, I will need space to think. I will need to step away from my desk…2014Craft ItCraft ItDoes this blouse make me look like a magician?I turned 30. It’s been over a fortnight in the space between that sentence, and the remainder of this story. That’s what…2014Craft ItCraft ItRemember this nameThe hunt ran from May all the way to September: On the 7th of May, Antony ‘Anto NeoSoul’ Mwangi released his debut…2014Craft ItCraft ItFive heads, no bodiesI write my stories from their centre going out. When I open a new blank page, I hit the Enter button two,…2014Craft ItCraft ItIn the eyes of the AngelMy camera is a Canon SD1400IS. My pal sneaked it in across borders from the States three years ago. It’s black, with…2014Craft ItCraft ItJuly: When time foldedI pity July. July isn’t a month which feels inspired or original. It feels lethargic. Stolen and repetitive. As if it’s a…2014Craft ItCraft ItThe Nairobi WomanBy Robert Aseda Something about the Nairobi woman sets her apart from other females out there. The typical Nairobi woman is calculating…2014Craft ItCraft It21 days in the CityKate was no ordinary woman. I decided that after our second, maybe third encounter. The day she said she doesn’t keep a…2014Craft ItCraft ItMakadem and others’ storyThe excellent and terrible things about Choices Bar on Baricho Road teeter about its music and photography. Choices is excellent for the…2014Craft ItCraft ItGuest writer: The CallHe called. He makes me happy. He really does. He doesn’t make me happy as in laughing and giggling and joking. Well,…