Kericho
Southern Rift and the Mau
“The tea leaf and the child both need patient hands.”
The Kipsigis heartland of the tea highlands, from Kipkelion to the Sondu.
- Capital
- Kericho Town
- Region
- Southern Rift Valley
- Altitude
- 1,800 to 2,400 metres
- Economy
- Tea, dairy, horticulture, transport
- Kipsigis
- Terik
- Ogiek
Kericho · Kipkelion · Litein · Sosiot · Londiani · Kabianga
Kericho is the Kipsigis heartland, a green plateau of tea and forest that rolls from the edge of the Mau down to the Sondu. It is where the first Kalenjin Foundation conversations took root among the elders of Belgut and Bureti, and where much of the Foundation's early convening still happens.
The county is also the anchor of Kalenjin enterprise. Tea, dairy, timber, and transport all move through Kericho, and the diaspora of Kericho people is one of the most active constituencies of the Foundation across Kenya, the Gulf, Europe, and North America.
The Foundation works with the Kipsigis Council of Elders, the county government, cooperative unions, and secondary schools to support youth, land stewardship, and the recovery of oral history from the sub locations of Belgut, Bureti, Ainamoi, Sigowet, and Soin.
Youth and education
Bursaries, mentorship, and secondary school libraries across Belgut, Bureti, and Sigowet.
Tea, dairy and enterprise
Cooperative capacity building with smallholder farmers and women's groups.
Heritage recovery
Recording the oral history and clan lines of the Kipsigis with the Council of Elders.
Kericho County Liaison (placeholder)
Regional Coordinator, Southern Rift
info@kalenjin.foundation
If you live or work in Kericho and would like to be involved, please write to us and mention the county in your subject line.