The “Ushago Visit Experience”: A Tale of Shopping, Generosity, and Tradition

In many Kenyan households, visiting the rural home or “ushago” has become a cherished tradition, especially for women who often bring along shopping and gifts for their families. Typically, women prepare for these visits by spending between Ksh 5,000 to Ksh 10,000 on shopping items depending on their budget and their husband’s financial standing. Once they arrive in their rural homes, they settle in for about a week, enjoying family time while discreetly making mental notes about what they’ll carry back to Nairobi.

Throughout their stay, they may spend just a modest Ksh 1,000 during the week, but on the final day, before they head back to the city, they engage in a ritual of giving. It starts with handing Ksh 1,000 to their mother and another Ksh 1,000 to their father, totaling Ksh 2,000 as a token of appreciation. If there’s a brother at home, he might receive Ksh 500 and, occasionally, a second-hand item like an old phone case—perhaps one that belonged to the husband before he upgraded to the latest iPhone.

As the visit comes to an end, the family’s generosity kicks in. The mother, knowing her daughter is leaving, begins to pack a bounty of fresh produce from the farm. As the car is loaded, items like maize (roughly 10 “gorogoros”), bananas, pumpkins, guavas, onions, tomatoes, indigenous vegetables like managu, sweet potatoes, beans, and even sugarcane are carefully tucked in. All these valuable foodstuffs, likely worth around Ksh 20,000, are packed for the woman’s journey back to the city.

This reciprocal act is a hallmark of Kenyan culture, highlighting the generosity of rural families, the connection to the land, and the deeply rooted value of sharing. Despite bringing gifts for their families when visiting, the women often leave with far more than they gave—an expression of love from their parents and siblings. Even husbands who refrain from asking for anything find themselves gifted with farm produce by loving mothers who want to send a piece of “ushago” with their children.

While it’s easy to see this exchange as a form of tradition and love, the actual value of what is exchanged tells a different story. The shopping brought by the women may cost between Ksh 5,000 and Ksh 10,000, but the farm produce packed for them to return to the city can be worth twice as much.

But no one’s really counting, right? It’s the love and warmth of the experience that counts. Just like in many homes across Kenya, these visits embody the deep connection between urban dwellers and their rural roots. The laughter, shared meals, and bountiful send-offs are all part of what makes “ushago” visits such a fulfilling experience.