

​K’Apanj resonates with people of Dhoya-Nzoia, Umina, Kayombi, Ambira, Ugunja, Wang’ Neno, Siranga, Ukwala and its surroundings in Luoland of Kenya.
In the early 80s a gud-jaggery factory was constructed, the locals would refer to it as K’Apanj meaning owned by Panj. In other contexts, the ‘K’ before the name is a prefix meaning ‘’son of’’ or ‘’something of’.
Guru/gud-jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal sugar. It is a concentrated product of cane juice. Though similar sugarcane refinery was practiced in Luoland, it never saw large-scale factory manufacture until the time K’Apanj was established in Dhoya-Nzoia.The banks of river Nzoia were well known for sand mining as far as Ulawe, the trucks route would pass next to K’Aching’ Dwir and K’Apanj factory. It is thought by the locals that the Kuoyo-sand mining in the area started around the 1920s. Until recently sand mining has been one of the backbones of the economy in the area. When the Nguru/gud-jaggery came about the region saw an extra source of employment opportunity though it lasted less than five years.

Work in progress..........
Image - Rapasa Nyatrapasa Otieno
About:
Project: K’Apanj.
Inter cultural concept, Dhoya [Nzoia] Ulawe.
​K’Apanj resonates with people of Dhoya-Nzoia, Umina, Kayombi, Ambira, Ugunja, Wang’ Neno, Siranga, Ukwala and its surroundings in Luoland of Kenya.
In the early 80s a gud-jaggery factory was constructed, the locals would refer to it as K’Apanj meaning owned by Panj. In other contexts, the ‘K’ before the name is a prefix meaning ‘’son of’’ or ‘’something of’.
Guru/gud-jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal sugar. It is a concentrated product of cane juice. Though similar sugarcane refinery was practiced in Luoland, it never saw large-scale factory manufacture until the time K’Apanj was established in Dhoya-Nzoia.The banks of river Nzoia were well known for sand mining as far as Ulawe, the trucks route would pass next to K’Aching’ Dwir and K’Apanj factory. It is thought by the locals that the Kuoyo-sand mining in the area started around the 1920s. Until recently sand mining has been one of the backbones of the economy in the area. When the guru/gud-jaggery came about the region saw an extra source of employment opportunity though it lasted less than five years.
The construction of Kenya-Uganda railways that started in 1896 reaching Nyrobi (Nairobi) around 1899 as an expansion of trade route, employed Indian day-labourers. Resistance and hostility from the locals meant that the Indian day-labourers would set up small scale shops known as Duka and engaged in barter trade with the locals as a means to integrate. A logical progression from shopkeeping would be to see investment opportunity as a reasonable assumption though more research in lineage would need to be made to confirm that the Panj Matia and Mukes brothers are descendants of the railway workers. Once the railway was finished most of the Indian community left though few remained. What is known from local sources is that the brothers got inspired to invest in an industrial scale business in the area and bought a parcel of land from a local Owino K’Ooko Ogoma along the river Nzoia. The nature of the business was a jaggery-gud/guru factory, whereby they purchased sugarcane from the local farmers as far as Mhoroni.
Being in operation approximately from the year 1983/4 their products thrived in wholesale and supplying to external consumers. Land issues started to arise which then demotivated them and finally shut down around 1986 leaving behind equipment.
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Concept:
Though the K’Apanj industry was short-lived it has a lasting imprint in the community. K’Apanj is an evolving piece which uses as a starting point the illustration of the effects in the days of territory expansion, migration, economic stability in East African regions. It is exploring beyond conspicuous geographical lines.This project is looking back at village sites, integration of external culture to the local, traversing past economic interaction, including pre and post effects of interculturalism.
K’Apanj embodies the echoes of the experiences, taking into account potential dimensions relating to shifts and maneuvers. It is a retrospective view of the stories mentioned above using the action of the sand and tin which illustrates an inconspicuous fusion of cultures and social-economical influences. People may have knowingly or unknowingly assimilated different practices. The piece exposes the parallel between sand mining and jaggery manufacturing with the use of conical tins that produce the shape of the jaggery and texture, colour association between the sand and jaggery. What might have been the quick downfall of this industry? Could it be a social economical reason or due to the nature of the sandy ground or both?
Format - Body placement in space
Installation & projection of Sand | Tins 80cm x 100cm
Digital - interactive photos and audio
Surface base area 3m x 2.2m
Tins - 30pcs filed with sand - 10kgs on a black surface floor
Lights
Video loop -Water sound
Audio - Rapasa Nyatrapasa Otieno | nature sounds
Year - 2024
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