June 21st

Due to a shortage in available time before the arrival of Heather Ramsey, Apo Calypso has postponed its visit to Samburu until after her departure on the fifth of July. Following our Nairobi meetings on the 23rd, the team should have a better arrangement as far as Mount Kenya, the Masai Mara and wildebeest migration are concerned. Tomorrow, however, we are arranging for a potential encounter with lions, an essential member and component of Maasai culture, at the Sweetwater game reserve, in hopes of capturing as up-close shots of simba as possible.

On the 24th, following Heather's landing in Nairobi, we will be trekking back to Il Ngwesi for the 10-day entirety of her stay after a brief stop in Nanyuki for last-minute supplies. On this stint, we plan on diving even deeper into the beliefs and spiritual practices of Maasai culture, particularly those pertaining to rites of passage.

On the 28th, the team will be relocating its camp for two days to the Lewa Downs Conservancy for its 8th annual Safaricom Marathon, one of the top-ten most difficult terrains on the world-circuit. Footage of this event, if not put towards the documentary itself, may be used in acquiring further funding to be put towards a website and other future endeavours under Apo Calypso's newly registered name.

Apo Calypso continues to be optimistic about forthcoming opportunities and are in no sense perturbed by the slight adjustment in Samburu plans. Internet will likely be unavailable to us until the 4th of July, so we shall update you then.

Onward and Upward,
Apo Calypso Productions

June 8th - June 16th

Apo Calypso has wasted no time in submerging itself back into the wilderness. On the 9th, we revisited the Lewa Downs Conservancy in an attempt to capture some of the wildlife missed on our first time around. We arrived in Kamanjo, our camp site, that evening and on the following morning, we took the camera out on a walk through the bush, and a hike up the rock cliffs.


On the 10th, we returned to Nanyuki to begin preparations for a three-day stint in the Lower Sanga community Manyatta, a district in central Il Ngwesi where the people live in an utmost traditional fashion. The elders granted us permission to set up camp within the Manyatta, their communal home and village, and it wasn't long before the opportunity to collect footage arose, as with their help we were able to orchestrate a full-day of Moran chants and dances. The complexity of their songs can at times be entrancing, especially as more members are added to their indigenous choir. Even at nighttime, the sound of a mother singing to her crying child is one that resonates deep within. The sound that we have managed to capture thus far, will play a key role in the Maasai experience that Apo Calypso hopes to achieve.

The Moran's are a fierce group. They stand together hand-in-hand, seemingly impenetrable. Meanwhile, their glance are razor sharp and would be intimidating to most, to say the least. These are the protector's of the community, armed with spears and arungus, who would surely sacrifice themselves for their tribe and their herd.

We continue to be pleased with our overall progress, our footage, which now exceeds a total of 20 hours, and audio quality.

Shots we have thus far include:
- The Rolling hills of the plains Savannah
- The True Safari Drive
- The Base of the Rift Valley
- Mount Kenya
- The Skyline / Clouds / Sunset / Moon
- The Trees (Acacia & Zufobia)
- Wildlife
- Turtle, Lizard, Zebra, Elephant, White Rhino, Buffalo, Water Buck, Thompson Gazelles, Baboons, Giraffe, Camels, Birds, Annex, Cattle and Goat
- Interviews with 6 Maasai Elders
- Elders herding and meeting
- Goat Slaughter
- Moran Chants and Dances
- The Morijo and Kiyaa's Manyatta / Boma
- Children playing
- Women
- Beadwork
- Daily chores
- Boma building

Locations we have visited within Il Ngwesi are:
- Leparua (2 nights at Kenyaga boma)
- Makurian community Manyatta (1 night)
- Sanga community Manyatta (3 nights)
- Chumvi
- Ngare Ndare
- Munyangalo
- Ethi
- Lewa Downs
- Borana Ranch
- Nadungoro
- Dol Dol
- Sieku
- Kamanjo (1 Night)
- Isiolo



In the following 10 days, we hope to visit the Samburu region and potentially Mount Kenya, depending on the clouds. On the 24th, however, the team must return to Nairobi for the arrival of Heather Ramsey, President of Upstream Wealth, who is coming to check out our operation with hopes of offering her help in building Apo Calypso's sustainable organization. Meetings with the Executive Director of Sunrise, based out of Toronto, as well as Michael Joseph, CEO of Safaricom in Kenya are being arranged in hopes of receiving possible funding. Another meeting with Joseph Lekuton, a Maasai member of parliament, is in the midst of being arranged for the purpose of obtaining connections within the Masai Mara, before we head in that direction. We will be returning to the field on the 18th.

Until Next Time,
Your friends at Apo Calypso Productions

June 1st - June 7th

In light of the objectives to accomplish over the course of our stay in Kenya, the past week has brought us much reassurance and progress. Despite a few ruts in our approach of portraying the Maasai in their purest forms, our perseverance has illicit a much more concrete sense of where we are going and how we are going to get there, both literally and as far as this project as a whole is concerned.

This week we were able to successfully capture the wildlife of Lewa Downs Conservancy, and were welcomed into the boma of Goyma Kinyaga, a Maasai living with his brothers, wives, children, and father in Il Ngwesi. By demonstrating our willingness to learn from Goyma and his family, we were able to orchestrate a meeting and discussion on the very night of our arrival with the elders of the community. We had the privilege of being granted full permission to record: dialogue with the elders, Goyma, and a Moran warrior regarding the importance of conservation, preservation, and culture; goat herding; boma paving; and also a number of myths and stories as told through the elders.


We stayed with Goyma for two days and left on the third to the Maasai community Minyatta of Makurian. While we had been prohibited use of cameras, the experience nevertheless proved useful in our, specifically Max and I's, exposure to the Maasai culture. Immediately upon our arrival, the co-dependent way of living to which the Maasai adhere to was omnipresent. The respect shown from one to another was especially striking, as well as their ability to laugh and enjoy themselves. Creating an environment where the Maasai feel comfortable enough to enact these cultural aspects on film will be a major obstacle to climb in the approaching future.

Upon our arrival back in Nanyuki on June 4th, we were disappointed to find that our desired apartment still was not vacant. We have however found and moved into an enclosed compound where we have a house and room for the latest addition to our team, a young goat. He will serve useful as a gift to the Maasai in Il Ngwesi, particularly the Morans, in order to overcome any discomfort on their behalf with the use of cameras.

On the 6th we made a brief visit to Doldol, a small Maasai township where the shrubs grow thick, the soil seeps red, and the rocks stand tall to acquire some more footage. After having reviewed the entirety of our material, Apo Calypso is proud to have its name attached to the footage so-far obtained, and we are looking forward to forthcoming opportunities.

Nairobi - Nanyuki (May 26 - May 31)

Since landing in Nairobi, our time has been predominantly spent on the facilitation aspects of transportation, accommodation, and preparation of equipment. All necessary visual and audio gear has been obtained as well as an apartment in Nanyuki, a town at the base of Mount Kenya, to serve as an operations base for the forthcoming months. So far no major setbacks have compromised our planning and budgeting, and we all look forward to making our way into the Il Ngwesi community today. For the next five days, both phone and internet will be inaccessible to us as we travel into the wilderness.

Our first priority is to arrange a meeting with the elders of Il Ngwesi to discuss their and our roles in the documentation of their community in an attempt to foster mutual understanding and respect. This will be the key to unlocking the doors of any hesitations on the community as a wholes behalf. In-depth documentation will commence today.

Kenya has undergone drastic changes in the aftermath of the post-election violence outbreaks and has been seemingly discouraged about their future. Both Javid and I had the opportunity to briefly visit some of the wreckage in the slums of Kibera, where spray-painted walls are demanding for peace. More riots are expected to come.


On another note, we have learned through a contact that the first fiber-optic cables in Kenya are due to arrive from Dubai within the next three months. These cables will connect the entirety of Africa to a global network of information at speeds as never before. I wonder what type of role this will play in international and online business, as well as Africa as a whole. The wealth of information that will be made accessible to people on this continent will surely spur change on a grand scale.

Until next time,
Cameron Boatman,
A representative of Apo Calypso Productions