Valentine’s Day often put some couples under a lot of pressure to impress, and it can become an uphill task in the village.
Owing to the fact that the day is characterized with buying of gifts, making dinner plans and stuff of the sort, people living in the rural set-ups must be creative in order to make the day successful.
This is especially due to the fact that the guys in the upcountry don't enjoy amenities that are splattered in the cities and major towns in Kenya.
And the amenities might be a big deal. For instance, recently, governor Mutahi Kahiga came under immense pressure from lovebirds who demanded that he stops everything to first ensure there is Java and KFC in Nyeri town where couples can go for Valentine's Day dates.
Anyway, how can folks in the villages where there are no roses, KFC, Java et al celebrate Valentine's Day?
Below are some suggestions:
Take her to butchery's choma zone
Nearly all major shopping centres in Kenya have a choma zone where couples can go to on Valentine's Day and enjoy mutura, kachumbari, nyama chama, ugali among other delicacies.
Go all out and spoil her with a stake of roasted goat meat then wash it down with a litre of coke and make the Valentine's Day memorable.
Go to the best picnic spots
The one advantage that remote areas have over the cities is the abundance of nature everywhere - rivers, forests and other cool stuff we see on Nat Geo.
Cook your food and take her out and just chill by the river bank, on the beach or in a forest that has a nice umbrella canopy.
At these picnic spots, you just surrender yourselves to nature and let romance take you to Venice or whatever destination it decides to take you.
Send her cards, chocolate and drinks
Folks in the villages can still buy their loved ones gifts as a way of celebrating Valentine's Day.
Since romantic gifts are limited in the villages, you can actually be creative - like instead of sending her a glass of wine you do yoghurt, maziwa lala or even mursik whichever one she prefers. Instead of sending her red apples send her red tomatoes - one that somehow resembles the shape of the heart.
Compliment that mursik and tomato with cards and walaaa... gorgeous Valentine's Day.
Cook for her
For couples who are still dating, invite her over to your house or simbaa (boys' huts) and cook an assortment of your loved one’s favourite breakfast or dinner foods.
For married couples or those in a 'come we try' kind of arrangement, try to cook her something nice - mokimo with milk tea, fish with brown ugali etc.
DJ Afro and chill
Watching DJ Afro movies while chilling at home is another way folks upcountry could spend their Valentine's Day.
Considering the fact that some homesteads don't have power or when it's there blackouts are frequent, just get a nice romantic movie on your phone and have it ready for Valentine's Day.
