History of Kericho
About Kericho Way Back When
Brief Overview of Kericho County
Positioned on the edge of the Mau Mountain, Kericho County, benefitting from a warm and temperate climate, rendering it gainful for agriculture, has been the homeland for the Kipsigis community for forever and a day. By origin the Kipsigis are a Nilotic ethnic group, a subgroup of the Kalenjin, who originated in the South Sudan region and migrated to their current home in Kenya’s Rift Valley. According to folklore, they, along with groups like the Nandi, traveled from a place called “Tot” and settled nearby Kipsigis hill. Over time, they continued their southward journey, displacing other communities like the Luo, Kiisi, and Maasai, eventually settling in areas of western Kenya, predominantly in Kericho, Bomet and Nandi.
Over time, they became the most populous subgroup of the Kalenjin people, who themselves share common ancestry and cultural roots with the other Kalenjin. Traditionally, the were governed by elders who made decisions and settled local disputes. Extreme cases were forwarded to the local chief who heads a sub-location. Older men guided young people concerning the ways of living. The fundamental basis of Kipsigis social structure was the family, and also based on the age-set system known as ‘ipinda’, which young people joined after initiation (tumdo). The age-sets were Maina, Nyongi, Chumiot, Saweiyiek, Korongoro, Kipkoimet, Kaplelach and Kipnyiige, being cyclic from the oldest to the youngest.
Kericho District’s colonial history is characterized by the British establishment of administrative control following an initial peace settlement in 1902, which was shattered by the assassination of Kipsigis leader Koitalel Arap Samoei in 1905, leading to widespread Kipsigis resistance. The region became the South Lumbwa District before being renamed Kericho District in 1935, overseeing a period of missionary activity, key educational development including independent schools, and socio-political agitation culminating in movements for self-governance
In 1907, the premier sitting District Commissioner of Kericho, C.W. Haywood Esq., raised one plant of tea in the prison garden at Kericho, then called Fort Ternan. Unknown to him at the time, this tea bush would in time be popularly cited as the first tea bush in Kericho, an area iconic for tea growing since. In 1925, tea planting picked-up steam as an salient cash crop in Kericho and by 1965, 28,000 tonnes of tea were been produced in the County; of which 1,400 tonnes were sold in Kenya and the rest of the produce exported. By 1974, tea harvest was up 45,000 tonnes.
During the colonial era, the land in western area (west of Kericho Town, north of Sotik and east of Sondu) was alienated solely for “European estates”. The natives (Kipsigis) were resettled in the northeast area, in the 2,071 km2 Belgut Reserve. The lands alienated for farming by settlers are confined generally on the west by the Lumbwa-Sotik road, and are bounded on the east by the western and south-western Mau Forest Reserves. Henceforth, Kericho became increasingly under development for the production of tea by companies utilizing modern methods.
Located in southwestern part of Kenya within the former Rift Valley Province, Kericho County, a healthful highland, has innumerable picture-postcard tea-farm vistas. Kericho County is famous for its vast tea plantations. It is all around a tea-riffic countryside clutching traditions and culture with one hand and a forward-looking yen on the other. It is home to large forests, historic sites and resorts, too.
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Explore Destinations in Kericho County
A Guide to Kericho County
A Summa Digest of Kericho
About Kericho Way Back When
35 Destinations in Kericho County , arranged as one would visit these - east, north, south then west - with aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Mau Forest Reserve , Chereres Waterfalls , A.I.C Kericho , Chesumot Estate , Chagaik Arboretum , Chesumot Dam, Kimugu River Lodge , James Finlays Tea Factory , Dimbolil Dam , The Sacred Heart Cathedral , A.C.K Kericho , Kericho Golf Club , Gurdwara Sahib , Kericho Wagon Works , Kericho Tea Hotel , Chebown Sanctuary , Chelimo Arboretum , Tagabi Monkey Sanctuary , Changoi Tea Estate , Chebulu Conservancy , The Kiptui Falls, Kapkatet Kipsigis Cultural Museum , The Tulwap-Kipsigis Hill , Londiani-Koru-Awasi Route , Londiani Dam , Masaita Forest Station , KFC Hospitality Centre , Londiani Falls , Kimasian Railway Bridge , Kiminket Garden, Kipkelion Monastery , The Van Wicker's Cave , Fort Tenan Pre-Historic Site , Tinderet Mountain , Ole Soi Resort , Bagao Caves
Know More About Kericho County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including a distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
What’s The Air Like In Kericho?
The annual mean temperature ranges between 29 o C and 10 o C. The central part of the county, where tea is grown, receives the highest rainfall.
What’s The Lay Of The Land In C.35?
Kericho has an undulating topography, with the overall slope of the land being to the west – forming a hilly shelf between the Mau Hills and the lowlands of Kisumu.
