I have been travelling to Kenya every year since 2012, building partnerships with tea farming families across the country. This was the first trip I was able to bring my 9-year-old daughter Cleo along for the journey. From family connections, tea garden sunrises, and monkey's trying to burgle us... this was a very special Kenyan trip!

My first trip to Kenya was with my dad and my cousin in 2012. In Nandi Hills, we met the Katah family, Mzee Jacob and Gogo Ruth. Now, 14 years later, my wife Sally and I introduced the Katah family to our daughter Cleo, bringing three generations of our families together. It was really special to see the longevity of this partnership, and a glimpse of what's still to come. 

See photo above of Sally and Cleo, alongside the Katah grandchildren, Trevor and Tara.

And here is a video of the youngest grandchild, 2 year old Tahlia, tasting black tea (she loves it, lol!) with her baba Boaz: Tahlia Tea Tasting

Cleo, Sally, and I were hanging out on our room's balcony watching the monkeys play in the trees. When all of a sudden, we heard a rustle from above and a monkey jumped onto our balcony railing landing 3 feet away from us! We hurried inside and the monkey tried to come after us, here is a video of the it trying to open the sliding door to our room: Monkey Break-In Attempt

We met with Anisia and Mrs Kobia from the Women's Co-op where our organic herbs come from. This year's weather in Kenya has been great for farming, resulting in a bumper crop of hibiscus and lemongrass. JusTea's herbal tea sales have also grown YOY, so the Women's Co-op has been able to source from and support 66 new farmers!

Cleo loves cats, from house kittens to wild cats, so naturally we had to take a one day safari to the famous Maasai Mara, where Cleo got to see lions up close! This video shows a big lion with their wildebeest lunch: Cleo's Lion Close-Up

I also wanted our whole family to experience something new together. I'd never visited Kenya's coast, so we took a couple of days and travelled east to the beaches of Diani, where we swam in the crystal clear Indian Ocean for the first time. The safari feel continued even there, with Cleo spotting 3 big camels walking along the beach.

And check out this weird, squirmy, alien-like creature the boat guide found us: Alien from the sea

I was telling Boaz how much I enjoy waking up early to watch the sunrise from our home in Gibsons, BC. He mentioned a spot he'd found in Nandi Hills with the best sunrise around.

I woke up at 5am the next morning to a text from Boaz with a pin dropped on a map. I got out of bed, put my shoes on, and started walking. It was still dark out, so I used my flashlight to navigate the uneven dirt roads. After about 30 minutes, the pin suddenly veered left, but there was no road there. Hmmmm, the view of the sky was decent from that spot, but something didn't feel right, and then I noticed a small path cutting through a tea garden….

I pushed through the tea bushes and up a small hill, and that's when I knew I'd found the place. It was beautiful, almost a full 360 degree view of Nandi Hills, with the sun just creeping up over the tea leaves and birds chirping their morning songs. See photos attached.

Boaz surprised me by walking up shortly after, smiling. "I'm happy you found this place," he said. "I was afraid you'd stick to the road and not venture into the tea garden." We laughed together, both knowing this would not have happened, after 15 trips to Kenya I feel at home in the tea gardens now, just like Boaz and his family.

It's through your ongoing support that we're able to continue building this farmer-direct tea partnership across Kenya. JusTea's mission is to create long-lasting employment at livable wages for tea farming families, and we can't do that without you!

- Paul, Sally, Cleo and the entire JusTeam

ps....  can you guess what this Kenyan "ladder in the sky" is for?? Drop your answer in the comments!