August 8 – 13, 2023, @ Bantu Mountain Lodge, Kenya
Before you start flying, please check the following: Passport, tickets, travel insurance, yellow fever vaccine status, covid vaccine status (see info on those below), adequate monetary resources, appropriate clothing and shoes etc. For any emergency, your contact person during this trip is Simon Mitambo, Executive Director SALT, our host in Kenya and GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives Assembly Organising team member. He can be reached on +254 722 135488; in case of any problem connecting, drop a message in the WA group, and one of us will try to address that.
The Assembly includes two parts:
The core team members of GTA are meeting at the same venue from the 5th to the 7th of August. All the gathering details can be found in the main page.
The GTA Assembly is being organised from August 8th till 13th at Bantu Mountain Lodge (Gathiuru Forest, Nanyuki – Kenya) and will be hosted by Society for Alternative Learning and Transformation (SALT), Kenya. The venue is approximately 200 Km from Jomo Kenyata International Airport, and it takes 3-4 hrs to reach there by car. More information is available here.
We have organised two field visits. These field visits intend to meet two different communities; Tharaka community in Tharaka Nithi County and Il-Ngwesi community in Laikipia County. The visits to Tharaka Community and Il Ngwesi community will happen on the 12th and 13th of August, respectively. From the Bantu Mountain Lodge to Tharaka, it is a distance of 134 KMs (2 hours and 30 minutes drive) and 50 KMs to Il Ngwesi Community Conservancy.
More information can be found here.
We expect the weather to be pleasant, neither hot nor cold, so prepare accordingly. Temperatures range between 15-20 degrees and it is windy during the day. Please carry a mixture of warm and cold clothes. However, since we are at the foot of the mountain so sometimes in the evening it might get cold and also a little unpredictable, so prepare accordingly. For the field trip, we may have to walk short distances, so a canvas shoe might be better, but nothing that requires special preparation.
Once you exit the Nairobi Airport security area, look for someone holding a GTA sign and approach them. SALT staff members will be there to welcome you. We are organising collective transport from the airport on your arrival, i.e. 4th August for core team members, arriving early, and 7th August for everyone else.
Two or three groups will leave on the 7th to the venue, depending on arrival time. The venue is four hours from the airport, so please carry water and essentials for the journey. We will stop for lunch or breakfast, depending on the time or for bathroom breaks etc. So that you know, you might be asked to wait for the next person (s) close to your flight so you can travel together to the venue. However, we know several of you will be taking long flights, so we are trying to avoid such a situation for everyone.
Contact Numbers: Agostine Mwaniki +254 723 583 257. Brennie Muthoni +254 748 353 398
Taxis: For those arriving on their own and early, Uber works in Nairobi, and yellow-coloured local taxis are available to rent at the airport. It would be best to check/negotiateour destination first before you get the price for y into the cab.
SIM cards There is internet at specific points at the venue but not everywhere, so purchasing a local SIM at the airport would be advisable. There are three companies Airtel, Safaricom and Telkom. They all have good services and are cheaper than activating international roaming on your phone. You may want to keep a passport photo and photocopy of your passport with you to purchase a SIM. It can be paid through a credit card or cash.
Currency change: While we cover the stay and accommodation during the field trip and on the way to the venue and the airport/city, you may need some Kenyan Shillings (KES). For those going directly to the venue, changing money at the airport would be best. There are several facilities for currency exchange from USD, GBP and Euro and a few others to KES. You can also withdraw cash from the ATM at the airport, but depending on your bank, it can add up to significant costs on transaction and service fees.
We can only reimburse public transport fares or, in exceptional cases, taxi fares to the airport in your home country. Please try and use public transport since we have minimal resources at our disposal.
After you process your Visa, you must request an invoice using this form. Be sure to keep a copy of it to be able to reimburse you.
If you are booking excess baggage, please pay for it on your own; we won’t be able to cover any extra baggage other than the one provided by your booked ticket.
The majority of meals will be arranged and paid for by us during the event; thus, we don’t have any other provision for additional per diem or honorarium for the meeting.
Please keep and bring all the receipts for reimbursements, including local travel, visa costs, travel insurance, etc., which our hosts will reimburse at the venue in cash. Here is the reimbursement form.
Kenya authorities requires proof of vaccination against yellow fever for travellers arriving from countries in which World Health Organization (WHO) classifies be at risk for yellow fever transmission.
Current list of countries of risk for yellow fever, includes: Angola; Argentina; Benin; Bolivia; Brazil; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Colombia; Congo, Republic of; Cote d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ecuador; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; French Guiana; Gabon; Gambia, the; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Kenya; Liberia; Mali; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Sudan; Sudan; Suriname; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad only); Uganda; Venezuela
You can check the status of countries in this link (last update: January 2023)
According to official authorities, a single dose is sufficient for lifelong protection.
The following measures shall apply to travelers departing and arriving into the country (last update May 9th 2023):
We will all return on the 13th evening or 14th morning after the field trip. The 13th departure from the venue will be late evening after the field trip, only for those who have an early morning flight on the 14th or would continue to stay in Nairobi for a few extra days. However, for everyone else, we suggest booking your return on the 14th afternoon onwards since it will take a minimum of 4 hours to get to the airport and another 2-3 hrs to complete check-in and immigration for an international flight.
If GTA supports your travel, then the economy class tickets at the lowest rate with due consideration given to the length of the journey and minimising the number of stopovers will be booked through our travel agent Lynette Wambui lynn@incentivetravel.co.ke Phone: +254722618522 in consultation with Madhuresh or Simon. Please provide the necessary information here, if you didn't already, on this Google form.
We will not cover upgrades to a higher class of air travel unless they are at no extra cost or the persons themselves can bear the difference in the price.
One may have accumulated air miles from individual frequent flyer programs or have a preference for certain airlines; however, we can only support the cheapest flights/routes with these considerations.
Before confirming the final ticket, please check the accuracy of the data on your ticket, the spelling of your name as in your passport, travel dates and time, the correct airport of departure and arrival etc.
Please take a single-trip travel insurance policy, which can be used to make small claims, such as flight or luggage delays or costs associated with immediate minor medical treatment. If you want us to book one along with the flight, please indicate so in the Google form.
Kenyan Visa, in most cases, can be obtained online from here. In the moment you process you start your visa application take into account:
For any further clarifications, please write to globaltapestryofalternatives@riseup.net or Madhuresh Kumar kmadhuresh@gmail.com
