Tea

I got to spend part of my last day with Esther and Robert Wanga. Robert Wanga teaches at Tirrim Secondary School. I call him Wanga and the students call him Mr Wanga. Wanga invited me to spend some time with his family in Nairobi before I left and treated me to some of his cooking. We ate delicious fresh fish!

In the morning Esther drove me out to Limuru, a tea-growing area not far from Nairobi. I have wanted to see tea plantations (sad Geography teacher!) and I appreciated visiting the area with a Kenyan who knew how to get around and we happily chatted about Kenyan culture, development issues and living as Christians.

Limuru is one of the places where tea was first grown in Kenya. The tea bushes are established and grow well in the warm and wet climate and fertile red soil. Tea is one of Kenya's top exports, a key source of foreign exchange and a big employer.

We tried to visit the Unilever Mabroukie tea factory, where the picked tea leaves are processed, but they didn't fall for our sweet talking and wouldn't let us in!