Forget what you know about Meru National Park. Yes, it has elephants, lions and the untamed wilderness that inspired Joy Adamson’s Born Free. But at its edge lies something even more alive – culture.
This October 1st to 3rd, all roads lead to Murera Gate for the Murera Gate Cultural Festival, a three-day celebration themed _”Celebrating Culture, Promoting Tourism, Wildlife Conservation and Uniting Communities.”
If you have only ever driven through Murera to get into the park, this is the time to stop, stay and experience the gate itself.
For once, this is not your typical stage and speeches festival. At the three day event just outside Murera Gate, the park and the people meet.
For the culture lovers, you will meet Ameru elders in traditional regalia, Imenti, Tigania and Igembe dance troupes competing in drum and song, display of Ameru artefacts, beaded work, traditional foods and fresh mbuzi choma by the park.
For the conservation traveler, there are live barazas where KWS rangers, elders and youth talk openly about human-wildlife conflict – how elephants raid farms at night, how communities are learning to keep them away using bee fences and chilli fences in bomas. You will learn more about coexistence in one afternoon here than in any documentary.
For the mindful traveler, beyond dance, the festival tackles real stories. In villages around Murera, families losing crops to buffaloes face tough choices that push girls into early marriage and boys out of school to become morans guarding farms.
This is a chance to deliberate on coexistence for a better future and generations to come.
Edited by John Majau
