Set on the northern slopes of Mount Kenya bordering Borana Conservancy is our farm Lol Tunda. 500acres of free hold land with joins onto another 2000acres of forest trust land.
We have developed this over a time by buying plots and piecing together the land. We ,together with our neighbours, have placed guards onto the land to stop charcoal burning. Now we have fenced in and watched the land regenerate and the wildlife return. We have developed sand dams to stop erosion in the valley and hold water.
On this land which consists of hills sloping down toward the borana plains and valleys of heavily forested land; we have kept a section of higher ground to build our house and permaculture farm. The contours of the land has been carved into long ditches swales to stop water run off and we have collected a multitude of grass seeds and planted and nitrogen fixing bushes to enrich the soil. We have planted fruit trees and dug dams to hold water and bring in birds. as well as placing new hives to home bees and collect wild honey. We have a heard of milking goats and keep some chickens and rabbits too.
We have 3 wagons on wheels in a grid formation with a living deck verandah between which we have called home since 2014. It consists of a double and a twin wagon and a kitchen with store in the container with fridge and freezer space and an outside bathroom off to the side. The living deck has a huge fireplace and large dinning table with sofa seats and comfortable chairs with another table outside the kitchen to serve food on. Candles line the roof and walls to be lit with solar lamps to lighted up the evenings with the flicker of a well stocked wooden fire. We have Wi-Fi here so if you bring your speaker and computers you can connect with music and the world beyond.
Adjacent to this is the children’s tree house built around a tree at the base of the garden with zip line swings and slides a sand pit and on the treehouse deck an upstairs room with a double and single with views of Mt Kenya. There’s a outside toilet and bath area here too.
The idea here was to live off the land but with elephants for neighbours and drought and little water it is difficult yo do so our best option has been to use this beautiful and peaceful place for tourism.
Anyone wishing to get away from it all for a weekend break to the quite of the wilderness to hike and eat fresh vedgetables picked form the garden cook for yourself in our well stocked kitchen and enjoy the bbq area. Sit around the log fire at night and count the shooting stars and go to bed to the roar of lions and the beauty of a peaceful place undisturbed by the hum of traffic.
If it’s a big party we have an extra two belle tents placed within the garden with a camp style bathrooms setup..
Around the house are flower beds all with edible plants and in the shade net garden the seasons growth of vedgetables. These are availible to gather from as well as eggs from the chickens and milk from the goats. We welcome dogs here to for dog lovers it’s a great place to enjoy the freedom of the hills and walk..
This is a peaceful retreat for reading and painting too wth a studio space inviting artists t paint and comfortable chairs to relax in.
We use this as a base for our mobile camps and store that here. This is a great starting point to any mobile and walking safari north to Tassia and beyone or fishing trips up Mt Kenya.
Getting here is easy with a stop off at the timau collective cafe we offer a rider on a motorbike to show you the way in a half hour ride from timau.
Day trips from here would include visits to Ngare Ndare Forest where you’ll be able to swim in the crystal pools, take the canopy walkway and learn about the trees or hike with a guide through the forest. Fishing is allowed here too. It’s an hour away for the house.
Another activity would be visits to Tamalu a commercial permaculture farm which takes the intensity of what we do at Lol Tunda to another level. Gather a basket of fresh produce here and leave with knowledge to grow.
Martins plane is kept here too and it’s a great vantage point for an in readable scenic flight for one passenger.
Sometimes we keep some of the raptors that have been rescued here so these are availible to see and it’s possible to book a tour of them and a permaculture tour where we show you how to regenerate land beekeep, plant trees and create sand dams and swales.
It’s possible to book a chef for here if you don’t feel like doing your own cooking and we have a team of two house carers to clean wash make up rooms and fires etc as well as gardeners to make fires for hot water.
Activities
Give Back to the Wild
Gallery
