DESERT STARS HUB
In 2024, we started to envision “Desert Stars Hub” in Northern Kenya, which will open up new opportunities for young people in North Horr, Marsabit County. The goal is to establish a digital innovation center that offers training in IT, sustainable agriculture, sustainable construction, and entrepreneurship to create alternatives to traditional livestock farming.
The result is a self-sufficient center for learning and cultural exchange, similar to the Learning Lions in Turkana, with a special focus on supporting girls and young women to give young adults the opportunity to find work in their home region. Aenki supports the construction and infrastructure, as well as the vision of the entire institution.
The Location
The site is intended to gradually develop into a regional hub for learning, exchange, and application-oriented collaboration, where education, knowledge transfer, practice-oriented innovation, community development, and locally rooted visions for the future are integrated. The project follows a phased implementation approach that focuses on local partner structures, community participation, and sustainable long-term operational and governance models. From the outset, the project also aims to link learning with practical application and small-scale income-generating activities that, to the extent possible, can contribute to meeting some of the hub’s future operational and maintenance needs. In the long term, the Desert Stars Hub is intended to serve as a model project for integrated education and development approaches in arid and semi-arid regions of East Africa. The goal is to strengthen regional expertise, sustainable development, and local prospects for the future.
The inauguration
The groundbreaking ceremony on November 5, 2025, was celebrated extensively. Residents from across the county came to Turbi to learn about the beginnings of the ICT Hub and to exchange ideas.
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Newspaper articles about the opening weekend: