Kenya is a country in Eastern Africa. At 580,367 square kilometers (224,081 sq. mi), Kenya is the world's 48th largest country by area. With a population of more than 47.6 million. Kenya is the 29th most populous country. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi, while its oldest city and first capital is the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu is the third-largest city and also an inland port on Lake Victoria. Other important urban centers include Nakuru and Eldoret.
As of 2020, Kenya is the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa. Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the Northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.
Its geography, climate and population vary widely, ranging from cold snow-capped mountaintops with vast surrounding forests, wildlife and fertile agricultural regions to temperate climates in western and rift valley counties and dry less fertile arid and semi-arid areas and absolute deserts.
There are over forty tribes in Kenya with different languages and cultures that all merge to become the unique mix of Kenyan culture. The biggest six tribes comprise about half the Kenya population and hence there is a higher influence on Kenyan culture from the people of these big tribes.
Kenya has a great diversity in ethnicity. Languages, customs and lifestyle differ from tribe to tribe and region to region. The three main tribes of Kenya are the Bantu, Nilote and Cushite. Each one has a variety of sub-tribes which are all unique in their particular culture.
The Kuria Tribe belongs to the Bantu linguistic group and are closely related to the Abalogoli and Kisii communities. They are a friendly people who are mainly farmers.
They live in Migori county and are divided into clans (ibiaro) with minor variations in laws, practices and language. Migori county is located in Southwestern Kenya and borders Homa Bay County (North), Kisii County (North E), Narok (South East), Tanzania (West and South) and Lake Victoria to the West. The county also borders Uganda. The county is headquartered in Migori town, which is also its largest town. It has a population of 1,116,436. It is located in the sugar belt wetlands of Western Kenya and is mostly at the heart of the African tropics. However, the county enjoys a pleasant climate because of high altitude which modifies the climate alongside the cool breeze from Lake Victoria.
Kehancha is one of the towns in Migori County. It has a total population of 256,086 people. The people are kind, friendly and most are farmers. It is in this village that we settled and established Gracie’s Academy that provides an education to over two hundred children each year. The main school building was completed in 2016 and additional classes are being added annually. We hope to soon be able to build a high school.
It was while we were living in Kehancha that we purchased a clothing company based in France. We rebranded it with the name Ligglio. When we returned to the USA in 2020, we relocated Ligglio to the United States.
Living in Kenya made us aware of the bamboo, sandalwood, ebony, amaranth, and other wood types used for agricultural purposes. Micro-furniture businesses line both sides of the dirt roads with men building and selling their beautiful wooden furniture creations.
In the United States we became familiar with the problem of "allergic contact dermatitis" where people are allergenic to their metal watches and sunglasses. It is estimated that over 70 million Americans suffer from this problem.
With our knowledge of the types of wood in Kenya we refocused Ligglio into helping solve this problem by providing beautiful wooden watches and sunglasses. Through the efforts of partners around the world, Ligglio was changed to offer these fine crafted masterpieces. We use reclaimed African wood and American sales and marketing expertise to deliver some of the fineness wooden watches and sunglasses available.
