News

Tue

28

Oct

2014

Miss Tourism nairobi.

The Miss Tourism Nairobi spend time at Kitengela Glass..

30 Comments

Mon

13

Oct

2014

Banana leaves

Bananas for Marc van Rampelberg's Terrace, hoping they will bear fruit - lovely installation, lovely client.

14 Comments

Wed

24

Sep

2014

our latest but by no means least, stunning works (16 panels)

18 Comments

Wed

06

Aug

2014

The new shop

You can now find Kitengela Glass at the Galleria mall Craft market. For your orders or any glass shopping call Eunice or kelai on 0711234876 , 0722 326 609 .

9 Comments

Tue

15

Jul

2014

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival

In the past month (25th June till the 6th July) 2 artists from Nani’s Kitengela Glass, Maina and Kibe, have visited Washington DC for extended presentations and lectures at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (http://www.festival.si.edu/2014/Kenya). They build a house on the spot and gave lectures on the famous Kitengela Glass recycling art and architectural style.

It turned out to be a great success; especially the intercultural exchange part of it was very informing for many of the visitors of the festival “ Sir, which Kenyan tribe builds like this?” was an often heard question “It’s the Kitengela Glass tribe, sir”. Which off course was a joke, but this at the same time gave food for thought and discussion on what a modern Kenyan tribe actually is, what traditional building styles are and how they can be renewed, reinvented, adapted to modern styles of building that incorporate ideas about recycling, sustainability and harmony with ones surroundings. In short, it was a beautiful diverse intercultural pressure cooker where Kitengela Glass, in the persons of Maina and Kibe, added some spicy much needed ingredients to. Bon appétit, Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2014

39 Comments

Mon

09

Jun

2014

The African Queen Visits Kitengela glass[By Dr.David smith]

The company known as Kitengela Glass Studios is owned and run by artist Nani Croze. The artist settlement at Kitengela Glass is situated on the edge of the National Park. The landscape surrounding the settlement comprises lightly wooded savannah with some grazed and cultivated land.                            

 

Dr. Dino Martins,an adopted son of Nani Croze and a noted entomologist,has his headquarters  here. In 2012,Dr.Ian Gordon,who recently retired as Head of Enviromental Entomology at ICIPE,when visiting Dino at Kitengela Glass,  noticed that the savannah there was inhabited by a thriving population of the African Queen [Danaus chrysippus],a butterfly he had been studying for some forty years.He immediately informed his old friend and research associate,Dr.David Smith[retired Head of Biology at Eton Collage,UK],who had devoted even more years to researching this iconic and beautiful butterfly. Ian,David,Dino,Professor Walther Traut from the University Of Luebeck in Germany,and several kenyans,have formed a team to research  D.Chrysippus at Kitengela glass,and applied to the Government Wildlife Department for permission to proceed.                                                                                                                                                                    

 

The focus of interest at Kitengela glass is a hybrid zone between two subspecies of D.Chrysippus, D.C.chrysippus and D.C.dorippus; the two subspecies are in reality incipient species and,although they hybridize,the result is not harmonious. What has happened here,and elsewhere in the Nairobi region is that mechanisms are actively evolving which will ensure that the two subspecies eventually become independent species.                                                                                                        

 

The principal ingredient of the speciation process at Kitengela glass involves two remarkable and unique features. The first is that one subspecies [D.C.chrysippus]is infected with a bacterium called Spiroplasma which kills male eggs,the implication being that females have only daughters:-as these daughters acquire the infection from their mothers,the all-female line is perpetuated indefinitely. The second extra ordinary feature is that,because D.C.chrysippus females cannot mate with males of their own type,they are forced to accept D.C.dorippus males as mates.                                        

 

Because all their sons are killed,the hybrid daughters produce only daughters similar to themselves. We are also studying a chromosome mutation which has astonishing effect of preventing gene flow from one subspecies to the other. Darwin would have loved this.                                                                

 

The book, African Queens and their kin:a Darwinian Odyssey by David Smith [publisher Brambleby Book,UK]will be available from July 2014. This book tells part of the Kitengela glass story;It is, however,ongoing:otherwise we would not continue to do the research.Kitengela glass will play an important part in this unfolding story.

15 Comments

Sat

17

May

2014

Dome

Great job done by kitengela glass research & training trust,Nani's team;Edwin,Katambo,Titus and the metal workers have been working on this project since 28/12/2013 to 5/3/2014. Now the dome is done and installed.

20 Comments

Fri

14

Mar

2014

Dome for Afritrack Muthaiga.

Ongoing work on Dome for Afritrack Muthaiga. The incredible hazardous work

the artisans are subjected to. Technique ; Dalle de Verre or faceted glass (

recycled glass blocks)

27 Comments

Wed

02

Oct

2013

Nani´s Birthday Exhibition

"Leaves"

in honour of

Wangare Maathai

Garden sculptures to be exhibited

From 16th September at Talisman

58 Comments