Poetry is when a celebration of art and restoration is held at a rehabilitated quarry on the banks of the River Nairobi. The Sanaa na Mazingira Festival 2022 was held at Tempo Grounds in Lucky Summer, Nairobi. Tempo Arts Centre members spent the last two decades painstakingly converting an abandoned quarry into a lush green space full of trees, vegetables, fruits and a fish pond. In what would have been the base of the quarry, currently lies a flat, green open amphitheatre that was the venue of the 2022 edition of the festival. What’s more, this oasis is only a stone’s throw away from the city’s official dumpsite, Dandora Dumpsite. Now that’s an oasis.
Sanaa is the Swahili word for Art while Mazingira translates to environment. Both these properties were on full display at the festival. The festival kicked off with a tree planting exercise on the banks of the River Nairobi, which flows through Tempo Grounds. A total of three hundred tree seedlings were available for planting. The locals, who formed the bulk of the audience, were encouraged to pick a tree and plant it themselves to spur a sense of ownership.
Artists from all over town came to the event to show off their craft. Acrobats, dancers, singers, graffiti artists, fire-eating magicians and sportsmen all brought out the best pieces in their catalogues. Most interesting was a trio of teenage entertainers who seemed to have mastered the art of firebending. When they weren’t making a show of eating the orange flames, they were putting out fire torches with their bare hands or blowing clouds of fire akin to the Targaryen dragons.
An important section of the festivities was the children’s section. This was easily the most interesting section of the festival. The children were a beehive of activity with GLFx Nairobi members keeping them busy throughout the day. A few enterprising children had a field day getting face painted, immediately washing their faces and getting back in line for different designs. The children received an entertaining talk on conservation and restoration. They then were allowed the opportunity to paint what their ideal environment would be. Imaginations ran wild.
While there I learnt something new too. A sport so new yet so old. Kabaddi. The contact sport that traces its roots back to ancient India while so new in Kenya, is the national sport of Bangladesh. The game involves two teams of seven players each. An opponent (the raider) is tasked with leaving his half, tagging all the defenders and returning to safety in his own half in 30 seconds without being tackled. The defenders have an obligation to tackle the raider. Points are earned on every tackle the defense makes or every tag the raider makes.
In the end, short afternoon rains interrupted the December summer weather characteristic of Nairobi. However, not even the rains could dampen the party atmosphere. The Festival went on for a further two hours before the immovable force of nightfall brought the event to a close. A day very well executed by Tempo Arts Centre and its partners; GLFx Nairobi, Ubunifu Hub and Laudato Si Movement.