Discovering Mlango Farm

In the village of Ngecha in Limuru district, a lovely couple opens their doors to all. Driving through the rickety wooden gates of Mlango Farm, we’re charmed by the colour and freshness of the place – green lawns, blue sky, bright flowers, a mural and sculptures in wood and scrap metal outside the farm house.

When I step inside the living room, I’m mesmerised by the collection of contemporary African paintings on the walls.

It’s a wide range – from sublime figures to the dazzling – but all depicting something African. It’s the private collection of Kamande Njenga who loves art and is quite an entrepreneur.

NONDESCRIPT BROWN BIRD

Married to his Dutch wife, Els, who he met in Amsterdam and showed her the city (she was from the countryside), the two moved to Kenya, precisely Ngecha. And Ngecha is known in the art world as ‘a village where art is inborn’; the rural, farming village has produced some of the finest talent in art – and mostly from artists who are self-taught.

Kamande shows me his art collection while Els serves coffee and cake. I meet with his friend Njee Muturi of the scrap metal art and jewellery. The two run the home art gallery.

Combined with his passion for art, Kamande, who says he isn’t an artist but loves the work of artists like Ashe and others, fills his time with farming. “He knew nothing about farming when we moved here in 2007 but he’s a Kikuyu,” jokes Els. “So while I was hesitant, Kamande was eager and asking neighbours for advice on growing vegetables.”

Woven baskets stand by the doors. They are for visitors who for Sh500 can fill the basket with fresh produce from the 20-acre farm to take home.

Past the mooing cows and the horses, the village path leads us to the terraced slopes kept free of weed. It’s a painting in itself.

The birders in the group are excited for in the bushes by the sides of the path, someone spots a hunter’s cisticola.

The excitement is that this little nondescript brown bird is not seen in Nairobi, but found in high altitudes and is an East African endemic meaning that it’s found only in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

AWED BY FRESH PRODUCE

Meanwhile closer to ground, we’re awed by the fresh produce – lettuce of many varieties, herbs, vegetables ranging from cauliflower to sukuma wiki to tree tomatoes. It’s fun picking the fresh vegetables, free of chemical pesticides or fertilisers, from the ground. The soil is enriched with compost made on the farm and manure.

And then we see a beautiful black augur buzzard – a bird of prey –  who’s joined by the female in white underwing. A third appears and it’s the juvenile – all in one frame. “It’s a Sunday family outing,” jokes Peter Mureithi of Nature Kenya. “These are good birds for the farmers because they zoom in on moles and other rodents (including snakes).”

As we continue down the terraced farms with neatly laid rows of crop, I’m happy to see bouquets of bright yellow nasturtiums for a tasty snack.

They are high in vitamins A, C and D – and while I’m chomping on the fresh flowers, checking first for any bugs to get rid of, Mureithi spots a Von Hoehnels chameleon perfectly camouflaged a few feet away on a brown post.

I have encountered this chameleon in bright green camouflage with bits of red and orange – like its surrounding on the high mountain of Eburru in the Great Rift Valley.

Going back in history, Ludwig Von Hoehnel accompanied Count Samuel Teleki’s expedition in 1887 to 1888 to present-day Kenya. They were the first Europeans to see Lake Turkana on March 6, 1888 which Teleki named Lake Rudolf in honour of the expedition’s patron, Prince Rudolf of Austria. Von Hoehnel, his assistant, was a keen naturalist and scientist and recorded many species of flora and fauna new to science.

Done with filling our baskets and an al-fresco lunch, the afternoon leads us into the forest path towering with eucalyptus trees. Alone in the forest, I savour its tranquility till I catch up with the group again.