Germans on the Kenyan Coast

The legitimacy of Dutch do-it-yourself initiatives in Kwale County, Kenya

“…As a result, the large influx of tourist did not so much result in increased living standards for the local population, but in a more deprived position. 51 Currently, most hotels are owned and/or managed by foreigners or upcountry Kenyans, meaning a large part of the revenue leaves the county. 52 Second, the hospitality sector caters for the largest part of household income stemming from wage earnings.…”

“…She describes how 'many tourist […] feel compelled to improve the living conditions of African Kenyans and engage in humanitarian aid activities' . 57 An expat living in Kwale County and involved in a charity himself explains the large number of visitors getting involved in a PDI: they [tourists] spend ten days in an all-in resort. At the end of their stay, they feel the need to go out and visit an orphanage or a school.…”

‘If you give me time I can love you’: A Pregnant Researcher among Male Beach Workers on Kenya’s Liminal South Coast Beaches

“…Furthermore, the combination of the rigidity, relativity, inconsistencies, and moral connotations that accompany these terms and concepts make them inadequate for the relations and relationships that were the focus of my study. The use of these and other related categorisations that dominate the literature in relation to men who seek tourist-related livelihoods on beaches has also been questioned and rejected in studies conducted by Nicole Tami (2008), Emilie Venables (2009), Mariam Eid Bergan (2011), and Nina Berman (2017). Therefore, rather than situating these men and the relationships they seek to establish with tourists on the South Coast beaches within the paradigms of prostitution, commercial sex work, or sex tourism, I view them through the concept of 'sexualeconomic exchanges' as developed by Paola Tabet (2004).…”

“…First, it can be seen through what the beach represents, that is, the main point of contact and interaction between the region's inhabitants and visitors to the region. Social inequality 14 is starkly visible through the social landscape and the lifestyles of the struggling local and migrant Kenyan communities, and through those of the socioeconomically more privileged visiting or resident Kenyans and westerners (Chege 2014;Berman 2017). The former reside in 'villages' -that is, neighbourhoods characterised by very basic housing and that lack essential social amenities, while the latter tend to reside in relatively luxurious, high security hotels or gated communities, which shield them from the surrounding poverty.…”