For my last day in Kenya I headed to Kitengela glass, a quirky art site in the middle of some dusty open plains south of Nairobi. Dotted along the driveway are statues popping over the stone walls, a few camels and some gloriously fat pigs. We walked into the main glass blowing house, a sort of gothic cathedral shaped like the head of a bullet. Gigantic furnaces blazed away as we watched glass-blowers skilfully shape glowing molten glass into wine glasses and flutes.
Walking further around we found an assortment of workshops buried amongst a web of pathways and giant cacti. Workspaces for jewellery makers, stained glass windows, painters, lamps and furniture makers. Everything is recycled. You find old car tyres embedded into the walkways, tusker cans opened out acting as clothing to statues made from scrap metal and old car parts. There’s so much to look at, it’s almost overwhelming. It helps to stay in one place for five minutes, and slowing gaze around in a circle, sweeping high and low as you will keep finding more artistic creations.
I ended up buying a healthy supply of wine glasses, each one having it’s own slightly wonky personality. Now I need to find a nice kitchen to put them in.