WELCOME TO SERIAN SANCTUARY

Serian Sanctuary is the physical site of fromtheroots.

Serian Sanctuary is a sanctuary space in Sultan Hamud, Eastern Kenya that invites beauty and slowing down in order to restore the value of beings (humans, soil, grass, indigenous livestock, etc.) who have long been devalued and extracted from by dominant systems.

The project is on 10 acres in semiarid pasturelands and will host courses, un/learning immersions, rituals, gatherings, an indigenous food restaurant and spaces for creativity. 

Serian is also a land restoration project rehabilitating gullies formed from decades of rainwater running off the hillsides. This restoration mirrors the whole person-whole community repair work we do in fromtheroots through our courses, ritual work, exchanges, and publications.

The vision for Serian is for us to practise regenerative living, decisionmaking, and relating all guided by and in communion with the land.

As the land is restored into full productivity and creativity, we as humans working with the land are also being restored into our full creativity as beings who have agency to shape the world towards more Life.

fromtheroots is a space to unlearn the patterns of powerlessness, apathy and separation that colonialism has taught us and Serian Sanctuary will be an active teacher in this.

The vision

The initial phase of Serian Sanctuary as a project is a land restoration project. There are 4 interconnected nodes to this first phase of restoration work:

• Water

Water at Serian is a symbol of life, a weaver of community, a carrier of coolness and an enabler of joy, play and ceremony. 

i. We will enliven this vision by tending to the flow of water through the space. This includes managing the flow of rainwater downhill through ponds, swales, terraces, zai planting pits, half moon circles, negarims and other technologies to slow water down so more seeps into the ground and recharges the aquifers; 

ii. We will create small dams within the deep gully to slow down the flow of water, support recharging and eventually support water based food (fish) and recreation; and

iii. We will plant protective cover that creates a microclimate that is less drying and exposing to the soil. The water features created by swales, microdams and other earthworks all also create a cooling microclimate

• Soil

Being on a hill and due to the semiarid climate, the soil at Serian has been exposed to runoff when it rains, and from treecutting for charcoal production. This has left the soil feeling depleted and scorched, and in certain places the soil is scarred. The vision for the soil is to cloak/clothe it and restore its maximum aliveness, depth, softness and fertility, and its capacity to hold (water, people, plants, etc)  and be responsive to the needs of those on the land.

i. tending the soil involves tending to water as described above (through e.g. terracing and microdams),

ii. We will also plant deep rooting and renutrifying grasses, leguminous plants and trees to cover and hold the soil particularly in the gullies, and 

iii. We will have a plan for how to generate new rich soil from organic wastes in the form of compost and humanure over time

• Vegetation

The vision for vegetation at Serian is beauty, diversity and productivity. The vegetation supports Serian to be a place of devotion and sanctuary. We hold the intention to have half of the land regrowing forest of various kinds prioritising indigenous trees, fruit trees and trees for medicinal and other productive use

i. Part of the forest will be reserved as a sanctuary for animals and other more-than-human beings. In this section the intention is to allow forest to do what forest wants with minimal interference

ii. another section of forest will be a food forest, with a fruit orchard that supplies Serian, and which can be processed into other products for the restaurant or consumption

iii. another section of forest will focus on trees which contribute to Serian’s sustainability through production of e.g. oils, perfumes, textile fibres, medicine, craft materials, dyes, etc. 

iv. another area of the forest will provide wood for fuel, construction and more.

another  area will be landscaped with trees, plants and a garden that invite people into pausing in beauty, meditative walks and vision quests including holding a labyrinth. In the future as Serian becomes an inhabited site, other vegetation in the area will include food plants, grasses for hay for animals, a teaching garden, tree nursery and so on.

Wherever possible, we will acquire tree seedlings from community nurseries and the forestry service for these purposes. Tending vegetation is also tending the insect life that keeps vegetation healthy so we will have hives to custodian bees on the land. 

• Living spaces

Our vision for living spaces in this first phase of the project is to create supportive holding containers for human activity leaning into organic shapes emphasising curves for natural beauty, balancing the heat and dryness of the area and being multipurpose and modular wherever possible to maximise resources available

i. We will build a 2 storey main house of earthen materials (e.g. adobe, bricks, etc) that will have hostel style bedrooms and a combined capacity of 30-40 people, and common living areas that will be used during courses and retreats, and an outdoor dining area that doubles as a learning space. In this beginning phase the outdoor veranda will also be a creative studio, and the wider outdoors our ritual space

ii. We will create a separate kitchen area or building for food preparation, serving and dish washing that in the future can grow into a full restaurant. 

iii. We will create camping spaces to support expanded capacity for 20 people

Toilets and showers will be a combination of ensuite and outdoors, and wastewater will support vegetation and soil. Electrification will be solar based to take advantage of the abundant sun in the area. We will also design a labyrinth for walking meditations.