On Christmas Eve, about four years ago, Wiumiririe village was a
quiet area save for the occasional noise from a few vehicles ferrying
travellers back home from towns for the holiday.
But
today, the once sleepy little village has suddenly become a tourist
destination, welcoming guests paying a high of Sh60,000 per night,
thanks to a plan by one of their neighbours.
And
as George Tafaria Waititu pockets the tidy sum, local residents, many
of whom are low income workers, are welcoming the sudden change with
glee.
In just four years, the price
of land has ballooned, from an average of Sh60,000 an acre to the
current quote price of Sh1 million.
The
story of Wiumiririe village is one of transformation and what
entrepreneurship can do beyond satisfaction to the business owners. The
secrets behind such a turnaround and some of the things taken for
granted but mean a lot to individuals’ lives is equally telling.
APPRECIATING VALUE
“Four
years ago, banks could not accept title deeds from this area as
security for loans,” Mr Waititu notes adding that his primary aim was to
bring social prestige in his home village.
“Nobody
wanted to be associated with Wiumiririe,” he recalls. The rural area
had been neglected and as a result, it was cut off from mainstream
communication, roads, water systems, and electricity network among
similar social amenities.
“In fact, I
did not come here to look for land to build a hotel, this is where I
grew up since I was a five-year-old,” Mr Waititu noted.
Having left the corporate life, the former Synovate managing director made a decision to return to his village and transform it.
“The
environment was very brutal. This was a migratory corridor for animals
from the park which is only four kilometres to the Tafaria,” he recalls.
Mr Waititu had done his homework well.
“Tafaria
is a deliberate effort to come to the rural village and transform it by
bringing social amenities in terms of water, electricity, and roads as
well as to create jobs,” Mr Waititu states.
Tafaria
opened its doors to the first visitor in 2012 and two years later, Mr
Waititu says he has seen land adjacent to his property appreciate in
value exponentially.
“An average cost
of an acre now stands at about Sh1 million in just a span of two
years,” he remarks adding that, “banks are now willing to take the title
deeds as collateral.
“Before that
they were never interested in taking the title deeds as collateral. Now
people even come to invest back home and this has reversed the rural
urban migration.”
According to Mr Waititu, investors need to look beyond the cities.
“By building Tafaria alone, there was massive skill transfer to the village,” he added.
According
to him, rural areas are normally condemned as zones of low social
prestige and the residents are viewed as less brainy.
“However,
having done the project, I can bear witness that all that the people in
rural areas need is inspiring leadership towards a good course and
they can achieve greatness. There is talent in abundance,” he notes.
Achieving all this has, however, not been an easy ride for the investor and his co-founder-cum-wife Eunice Tafaria.
PLINTH OF HONOUR
Today,
he urges the government to support local investors by providing
infrastructure to ensure accessibility, water and electricity among
others.
“We got no help from the
government in terms of infrastructure. We still are not getting any
support,” he said adding, “right now, when I see a road, I have a lot of
respect for it because I know how much hard work has been put into that
and the continuous repair needed.”
“We
have been very deliberate about our target market which is 100 per cent
local tourists,” says Mr Waititu who also adds that the farm products
used to make delicacies at the centre are bought from the village.
Mr
Waititu brought Wiumirire village back to life by making a bold step to
look and see a great opportunity where others couldn’t
As
a way of thanking those who worked with him to achieve this dream, Mr
Waititu set up a plinth of honour for 200 constructors in memory of
their contribution to the Tafaria Castle.
“Very
often or indeed at all times, fundis (constructors) go un-noticed after
a building is complete. What remains is a shining plaque of ‘this
building was officially opened by so and so.’ And the fundis are
forgotten soon thereafter, but is different at Tafaria Castle where all
the fundis who build the castle are immortalised at the plinth of
honour,” Mr Waititu explains.
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