The world is changing fast, even here in Kapchorwa. New roads cut through the green hills, and fast-food stalls pop up beside traditional markets. The younger generation scrolls through a digital world that can feel far removed from the wisdom of their elders.🌍
Yet some things remain. Values, traditions and ways of life that have shaped this land for centuries. Quiet strengths that could help balance an increasingly unbalanced world.
Here, even a simple act like plowing a field can carry meaning. Farmers sing to their cows as they work, keeping a steady rhythm, lifting the animals’ spirits and reminding themselves that this is a partnership: land, animal and human moving together.
But these strengths aren’t treasures to simply “collect” and take home. They come alive when you step in with curiosity, take time to listen and find a way to give something back. Even if it’s just your attention, your questions or your hands in the soil…
The Living Wisdom of Indigenous Trees🌳
In Kapchorwa, indigenous trees connect people to ancestors and hold medicinal secrets passed down for generations. Some bear highly nutritious fruits, others mark the site of rituals and Community gatherings.
Take the Mowet tree, for example. Among Kapchorwa’s Kapchemweny clan, it is believed to be home to ancestral spirits, a living bridge between past and present. Across the wider Sebei Community, the tree holds such deep cultural significance that cutting it is forbidden. This quiet protection has an unexpected benefit for the region’s invaluable Arabica coffee: the Mowet’s broad canopy offers a perfect shade, helping the beans develop their rich, distinctive flavor.
ℹ️ Read our in-depth guide to Kapchorwa’s indigenous trees and how they can boost your health and protect the environment.
A Mowet tree in Siron village, just outside Kapchowa Town
Unity ‘Kuptiem’ as a Way of Life🤝
Back in 2018, elder Mwanga spoke to me about kuptiem, the Kupsapiiny word for unity. He described how, in the past, Community decisions were made together: ensuring that the land, traditions and people thrived as one.
Today, that unity is tested by the pressures of individualism. But in the hills, you still find it. In shared farming activities and in the way people gather to celebrate and mourn.
When you visit Kapchorwa, unity isn’t something to admire from the sidelines. Join a Community meal, lend a hand in a shared task and you’ll feel it for yourself.
A guest from the Netherlands plowing oxen along the Mosopisiek Trail (2022)
Forest Medicines: Healing from the Roots🍯
One of the gifts of the Mount Elgon rainforest is lakwek, a honey wine enriched with medicinal roots. In Teryet, just next to the High Altitude Training Center, locals have brewed it for generations.
When I filmed a “how to make lakwek” video for Run Kapchorwa, I learned how the honey wine has multiple purposes: for strength, for healing and for calming the mind. You can learn this too. Not just by tasting it, but by asking the brewer about each ingredient, or helping to gather the roots that go into the mix.
Warrior Games - Strength with Purpose🏹
Long before modern athletics, young Sebei and Mosopisiek men tested themselves in warrior games. These weren’t just contests of speed or endurance but lessons in character: respect for elders and protecting the Community against foreign invaders such as the Karamojong cattle raiders.
Today, you can still take part in these games. The challenge is physical but also mental: finding the focus to execute the movement correctly and learn about the humility and resilience it was meant to teach.
A stick fighting demonstration at Cave Complex near our Guesthouse (2021)
Running Genes - Nature Meets Nurture🏃♂️
Why does this small region produce so many world-class runners? Some say it’s the altitude, others point to the diet. But long Achilles tendons may also play a role.
Kiprotich. Cheptegei. Chemutai. Kiplimo. Kiplangat. Remarkably, all five of Kapchorwa’s Olympic and World champions come from just four of the thirty-seven Mosopisiek clans in the higher belts of Kween District.
Meeting Kapchorwa’s running champions is humbling. They speak with quiet warmth, sharing how they rose from tough beginnings to inspire their Community and the world.
A visitor from the Netherlands meets Stephen Kiprotich at Boma Grounds in Kapchorwa Town (March 2020)
Mindfulness in the Fields🌾
Farming here is never just about food. It’s about focus, patience and knowing when to work with the land and when to let it rest.
Traditional farms grow a mix of Matoke, beans, onions, cabbage and coffee, protecting against crop failure and ensuring food year-round. Visitors are welcome to walk through the fields, but the deeper connection comes when you join in: plant seedlings or learn how to thresh millet by hand.
A visitor sorting millet during a Cooking with the Mamas experience (June 2025). Photo credit: Shadrack Chebet
Ox plowing: A harmonious practice
One of the most touching sights - and sounds - is the way farmers sing to their cows while plowing. The slow, melodic tunes aren’t just for the farmer’s rhythm; they boost the morale of the animals, showing respect and love for them. Over generations, these songs have become part of a harmonious practice where land, animal and human move together as one.
As many locals will tell you, time in the fields clears the mind. The rhythm of planting, the songs for the cows and the steady pace of work become a form of mindfulness. One you can carry home long after the trip ends.
🥾 Join one of our guided hikes to see how farming is woven into the fabric of daily life.
Farmers plowing land with oxen, just outside Kapchorwa Town (January 2025)
A Deeper Connection to Life🔥
From the unity of its people to the healing power of its forests… from the warrior spirit to the quiet patience of farming… Kapchorwa’s strengths are not relics of the past. They are tools for navigating the future.
They also remind us that life works best when it moves in harmony, like the steady call-and-response between a farmer and his cows. The slower you go, the deeper you’ll connect. So walk the trails with open curiosity. Ask the questions that can’t be Googled. And if you can, leave something of yourself behind. A story, a song, a shared task…so the exchange goes both ways!
🌿 Are you ready to walk the trails of the past, meet the storytellers of the present and take home lessons for the future?
This blog is written by Daan Oxener, a Dutch social entrepreneur who is based in Kapchorwa since 2016. Daan manages Home of Friends Guesthouse, together with his wife Eliza. He is passionate about documenting Mount Elgon’s beautiful nature and remarkable culture. Daan is also engaged in Community & youth empowerment through adventure tourism.