GDD 2025 Nairobi: The Commons Converge

Executive Summary

On October 17th, 2025, our Global Donut Days (GDD) Kenya celebrations culminated in "The Commons Converge," a profound and powerful day of connection, introspection, and co-creation. This final gathering brought together our three core community partners—Tempo Arts & Inua Msanii, the Youth for Ngong Road Forest (YNRF), and Tuvuli/Urban Nomads—for a shared journey. Moving beyond public showcases, the day was designed as a sacred space for weaving a collective future. The activities included a morning session where each group rooted their identity in an element of the forest, a deeply engaging screening and Q&A for the "City Shuka" documentary, and a strategic "futuring" exercise that mapped a concrete, collaborative path forward. The day was a testament to the power of community-led visioning and resulted in an actionable roadmap for inter-community collaboration, proving that a regenerative future is not just a dream, but a future they are actively building together.

Part 1: Morning Session - Rooting Our Identities in the Forest

The day began with a grounding exercise in the Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary. Each of the three communities was invited to identify with a natural element of the forest that best represented their core essence and work. This was a powerful act of metaphorical storytelling, allowing each group to articulate their identity in relation to the living world.

• Tempo Arts as the Soil & Roots: Tempo Arts identified with the rich soil and the deep, anchoring roots of the forest trees. This beautifully symbolized their 30-year history of providing a stable, nurturing foundation from which countless artists and projects have grown. Like the soil, they are the base of the ecosystem, providing the essential nutrients for life to flourish.
• YNRF as the Living Canopy: The Youth for Ngong Road Forest saw themselves as the forest canopy. They are the guardians who protect the entire system, providing shade, purifying the air, and acting as the city's lungs. As a collective of young leaders, they represent the green, growing, and visible part of the ecosystem, interconnected and working in solidarity.
• Tuvuli/Urban Nomads as the Wind & The Seed: Tuvuli identified with the invisible yet vital forces of the wind and the seeds it carries. Their work with story is like the wind—it travels across boundaries, carries the seeds of ancestral wisdom from the past into the future, and pollinates new ideas. They are the connectors, the messengers of the ecosystem.

Part 2: The "City Shuka" Premiere - A Catalyst for Introspection

The centerpiece of the day was the screening of the "City Shuka" documentary. The film, which explores the weaving of nomadic wisdom into urban life, served as a powerful catalyst for a deep and engaging Q&A session with Director Jairus Kinyanjui and a Maasai community member. The discussion moved beyond the film itself to touch on profound themes of cultural sovereignty, the pain of modernization, and a national call for Kenyans to reclaim their roots. The film successfully framed the larger context for why community-led, culturally-grounded regeneration is so vital.

The Unplanned Moment: The "Hata Me Nadai" Freestyle

Following the intense and emotional Q&A, a spontaneous moment of creative energy erupted. One of the artists began a freestyle rap, and others quickly joined in, creating a powerful, unplanned cypher. The session was raw, joyful, and deeply expressive, coalescing around the phrase "Hata me nadai"—a Swahili expression of personal desire and agency, meaning "I want that too" or "I am also claiming it." This moment perfectly embodied the spirit of "We are the change we seek." It was a declaration that after a day of deep listening and reflection, the desire for a better future was not just a collective idea, but a personal, passionate demand from each individual.

Part 3: Futuring - Weaving a Shared Path

The final session of the day was a strategic "futuring" exercise. Building on the energy and insights gathered, the three communities worked together to map out their collective future. This was not a vague brainstorming session, but a practical workshop to identify concrete areas of collaboration and mutual support. Each group presented their vision for the coming year and then, together, they wove these individual visions into a shared tapestry. The result was a clear, actionable roadmap for partnership, demonstrating a profound commitment to moving forward in solidarity.

Conclusion: A New Chapter of Co-Creation

The Commons Converge was the perfect culmination of our GDD 2025 journey. It successfully transitioned the communities from individual celebration to collective strategic action. The day affirmed the power of story, the necessity of solidarity, and the boundless potential that is unlocked when communities are given the space to dream and design their own futures. This event was not an end, but the beginning of a new, more deeply integrated chapter of co-creation for these remarkable communities.

The Collaboration Table: A Framework for Our Future

The futuring session resulted in the following concrete collaboration plan, outlining the practical ways these communities will weave their work together in the coming year.

Ntulea

• Trainings and workshops (including Doughnut Toolkit & Workshop)
• Inua Msanii to be the voice of programs in Ntulea
• Capacity building training (including Capacity building for the community)
• Leadership training
• Support in Community Outreach
• Visual Arts and Performing Arts
• Wellness, Health and Fitness Programs
• Collaborate on urban tourism

Inua Msanii

• Performing Arts and Visual Arts from Tempo Arts
• Sound Equipment from Tempo Arts
• Empowering youth through media & arts
• Collaborate on urban tourism
• Exhibitions of beadwork/Shows

Tempo Art

• Training Filmmaking
• Collaborate in beadwork
• Performing Arts with Visual Arts
• Collaborate with Inua Msanii
• Collaborate on urban tourism
• Acrobatics and Dance in the Forest
• Mentorship
• Capacity building
• Product development

Tuvuli/ Urban Nomads

• Podcast with Inua Msanii
• Do a documentary with Inua Msanii (including Documentary Film Workshop)
• Collaborate on the Album production with Inua Msanii
• Exchange programs with Tempo Arts
• Media Support and Online presence
• Visual Arts and Performing Arts from Tempo
• Training Filmmaking [Tuvuli org]
• Collaborate on urban tourism

NYRF (Youth for Ngong Road Forest)

• Visual Arts and Performing Arts and Exchange Program from Tempo Arts
• Bead work in writing free work
• Bead work using beads work
• Product development
• Market sustainability
• Capacity building
• Mentorship
• Commitment of resources

Ujuzi Fulani Hub

• Bead Work and [Crafts Business Development]
• Recycled Materials/Tempo Arts
• Fiber Materials e.g. Banana Sacks
• Health, Fitness, and Wellness Programs
• Visual Arts/Visual Events
• Hair work / Dreadlocks
• Collaborate on urban tourism