Tharaka traditional territory in Kenya, is known as Nthiguru iri Njuki (The Land of the Bees). The story goes that when Mwenenyaga (Creator) was delivering his people from captivity by the Nguu Ntuune in Misri, he handed over a magical stick of Mwegere plant to Mugwe so he could hit the water for the people to pass. Mugwe is the Spiritual leader of Tharaka who was instructed by the Creator to take people to the land flowing with honey – thus the land of the bees. It is also very interesting to find that this same land that has no bees owing to use because of bad spray chemicals that kill all of them. As I grew up, I used to go to harvest lots of honey with my father and every homestead had the bees around because of barrels of the sweet natural food. Now, this is history. Very little or no honey at all is found.

It is this same land that on 12th August, 2023, a group of about 60 people coming from around the world from more than 25 countries. These were covering all populated continents. They represented a wide variety of groups: ecological, feminist, youth, Indigenous, workers, farmers, educators. They converged at the foot of the small hill known as Mutaranga to learn from the work of the Society for Alternative Learning and Transformation (SALT). SALT accompanies communities to assert their rights to autonomy by recalling their community ecological governance system and customary laws and, and with it, their ancestral responsibilities to protect their territory, community led-conservation and livelihoods. The team were under the umbrella of the Global TapestryThe weaving of networks of Alternatives of AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them. (GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives).

Picture Credits: Xochitl Levya Solano

GTA is an initiative seeking to create solidarity networks and strategic alliances amongst all these alternatives on local, regional and global levels. It is very interesting to see how when we hear of alternatives, we quickly think of substitutes or replacements but alternatives in the GTA sense, should carry certain characteristics so that it does not come back to be a problem. It should be ecological, critical and sustainable among other factors. The GTA had come to Kenya to hold its first ever General Assembly and SALT had the privilege to host it. The venue was the Bantu Lodge in Nanyuki located at the foot of the Mt. Kenya, revered sacred space for the community living around it. The place was great for the reconnection with Nature and other members of the Earth communities. The Assembly also had the attendance of the GTA endorsers and Weavers; those that give the GTA integrity and those that weave examples that demonstrate the work of the GTA respectively.

The arrival of the GTA at the Bantu Lodge in Nanyuki was well received by the elders who are the custodians of the land and the wisdom. They blessed the gathering and participants. This was a special landing that recognizes the ancestral wisdom of the land. In SALT we call it greeting the land. The elders sought on the behalf of the participants for the permission into the land. The elders invoked the presence of those who swim in the waters, those who walk with two and four legs, those who are legless, and those that fly in the skies. And welcomed all the participants from all the four corners of the Earth.

Picture Credits: Xochitl Levya Solano

The field visit presented great opportunities for both the GTA team and SALT community. We learnt how community has been asserting their rights to decision-making by incorporating local citizens' assemblies, ecological responsibility, and livelihood sovereignty. The Tharaka community has been recalling their clan governance system and customary laws and, with it, their ancestral responsibilities to protect their territory and cosmology. They use ecological maps and calendars to critically analyse their socio-economic and political situation and understand how they’ve come to where they are. This is the groundwork and foundation out of which strong alternatives emerge based on a deep understanding. Story of how SALT responded to Covid-19 was great in terms of how SALT builds community resilience to pandemic through holistic work. It emerged that 75% of Covid-19 cases were treated using the community herbs and medicines. Covid-19 had come with great shock and people were told to stay home to be safe. The elders told us that this kind of disease was known as Mukambi. And that a ritual known as Muriira is used to block the disease. This was a bit of a relief, at least from anthropology view. The elders asked every community homestead to contribute indigenous seeds for ritual. All the members including Christians contributed. This exercise build solidarity among all the members of the community in the face of this pandemic. The elders advised people to use the indigenous foods, including the vegetables and wild fruits and certain herbs. There very limited cases of the Covid-19 death in this community and community members were appreciating that through working with community dialogues and reviving their indigenous seeds and traditional medicines had very positive response to the pandemic.

Picture Credits: Ryan

The participants shared very encouraging stories and experiences from working with the community back at their countries. This was very inspiring for the community whose culture sees visitors as blessings. Besides the community, the coming of the GTA to Kenya had other positive impact. On 4th of August, 2023, the GTA team of Facilitators met some members of the Civil Society Organizations with two primary aims. One, for GTA members to understand the current socio-cultural, economic, ecological and political situation in Kenya, and get a sense of the kind of alternative initiatives that communities and CSOs are involved in. And second, for Kenyan CSOs to understand the GTA’s objectives and activities. Through this, a longer-term collaboration was built between both groups. This has led to another gathering of the same CSOs to explore the formation of a Weavers group in Kenya – the first such initiative in Africa. We look forward to a flourishing weaving activity. And these have been the sweet fruits of this gathering.