So, day one of Maker Faire Africa started with a light drizzle and a temperature of what I’m guessing would be about 15 degrees C, so much like being in Wales then…
The big news in Kenya today is the signing of Kenya’s new constitution. It seems like most of the population of Kenya are gathering just down the road in Uhuru Park for the ‘Promulgation’. Kenya’s previous constitution was concocted largely by their colonial masters and was signed in Lancaster House in London in 1947, but this time around it feels like the entire population have a real sense of ownership of the process and that this constitution has been imposed by the people onto the political system. Hamilton, from Nairobits told me that he’d got up at 5am to vote for the constitution only to find that the queue to vote already stretched round the block.
Of course, this is great for Kenya, but does mean that attendance at Maker Faire on Friday was expected to be low. So it’s good to see so many makers in attendance, and quite a lot of members of the public too!
I spent the morning talking to the staff and students from Nairobits with whom we’re collaborating on putting together simple websites for people who don’t have one already, and giving advice to those who do.
So the first website has just launched, for Gloria Kamanzi Uwizera, who runs an organisation called Glo Creations in Rwanda, producing gorgeous hand made clothing, textiles and home decor. The website is at http://glocreations.wordpress.com/.
