I am trying to develop a deeper connection to my ancestral home. This series represents a breaking of barriers. I am not a fluent speaker of my mother-tongue, Kamba, which poses its own unique challenges. This has however, not disabled me from exploring an undocumented part of myself. Two years ago, I began this long term personal project in order to gather photographs, audio recordings and videos that depict Kamba culture, our landscape and ultimately my extended family. I am the only borne of a single mother, whose background is originally rooted in Mbooni, Machakos. My grandfather later relocated to Makueni, which has since been our rural home. This work consists mainly of landscape images and environmental portraits. . Makueni County covers an area of 8,034.7 sq km with a projected population of more than 0.9million people. It geographically borders Kajiado County to the West, Taita Taveta County to the South, Kitui County to the East and Machakos County to the North. The county lies in the arid and semi-arid zones of the Eastern region of the country. Our County is famous for horticulture, already there are water management community projects like dams, irrigation schemes and boreholes that boost agriculture hence bringing wealth to all. (Source: https://opencounty.org/county-about.php?com=8&cid=17)
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Makueni County, Kenya, August 30, 2020. A teenage boy I photographed ashore River Thwake.
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Makueni County, Kenya, August 31, 2020. A boy poses for a photo at a goat shed on a Sunday afternoon.
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Makueni County, Kenya, August 30, 2020. Children pose for a photo ashore River Thwake.
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Makueni County, Kenya, August, 2020. A boy poses for a photo at the Thwake River waterbed. This is where residents fetch water for domestic consumption in the seasons where the water volume lowers to the extent evident in this photo.
He is accompanied by a lady loading tanks of water unto the donkey(s), which are our main means of transport in deep rural Ukambani.
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Makueni County, Kenya, August 30, 2020. A lone cow at the Thwake River waterbed during sundown.
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A man guides his donkey carrying tanks of water together with his dog, across River Thwake at sunset.
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Landscape view of Makueni. August 31, 2020
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Goats search for pastures on a dry river bed in Makueni.
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During seasons leading up to the dry season in Makueni County, water levels are at their lowest as exhibited in River Thwake, a season river that cuts across Ukambani region, a place greatly affected by climate change.
Makueni County, Kenya, August 30, 2020. A teenage boy I photographed ashore River Thwake.
Makueni County, Kenya, August 31, 2020. A boy poses for a photo at a goat shed on a Sunday afternoon.
Makueni County, Kenya, August 30, 2020. Children pose for a photo ashore River Thwake.
Makueni County, Kenya, August, 2020. A boy poses for a photo at the Thwake River waterbed. This is where residents fetch water for domestic consumption in the seasons where the water volume lowers to the extent evident in this photo.
He is accompanied by a lady loading tanks of water unto the donkey(s), which are our main means of transport in deep rural Ukambani.
Makueni County, Kenya, August 30, 2020. A lone cow at the Thwake River waterbed during sundown.
A man guides his donkey carrying tanks of water together with his dog, across River Thwake at sunset.
Landscape view of Makueni. August 31, 2020
Goats search for pastures on a dry river bed in Makueni.
During seasons leading up to the dry season in Makueni County, water levels are at their lowest as exhibited in River Thwake, a season river that cuts across Ukambani region, a place greatly affected by climate change.
Kesh Nthamba Photo Portfolio
Woman Documentary and Humanitarian Photographer Kenya Africa