KISIMA FESTIVAL PRACTITIONERS
Salim Rollins

Salim Rollins has dedicated his professional life to empowering communities through wellness and cultural arts programs. He deeply values his mission of sharing healing practices and curating wellness spaces with communities throughout the world. Particularly those that lack access to wellness spaces.Salim is a “Mestre” of Capoeira Angola, which he teaches at his Kibera-based NGO, Inuka Cultural Center. He’s also the Co-Director of Synergy Yoga which offers wellness journeys in Peru, Mexico, and Kenya and facilitates Yoga Teacher Trainings and Thai Bodywork certifications.
Salim will be offering Capoeira Angola and Percussion music of Capoeira Angola at the Festival.
Find him at @capoeira_angola_center_kibera @synergy.yoga @inuka_cultural_center
www.inukacenter.org www.synergy.yoga
Kisima Festival will be welcoming activists to connect with the well-being dialogue, and vice- versa. Participants can expect to experience fireside chats, circles and songs of freedom.
Fareed Diamond Khimani

We have the pleasure of welcoming Fareed to Kisima festival.
Fareed is an award winning director and producer. He was previously a sports presenter at Capital FM, presenter at Capital Morning Breakfast, presenter of Big Brother Africa, host of Mnet’s Studio 53 and founder of Nusu-Nusu Productions.
Among his many accolades, his bravest role has been as a mental health advocate and substance abuse counselor.
Healing and Addiction
He is vocal about his journey to sobriety and helping others who are needing help with battling addictions to substances. He is joining Kisima Festival hosting a dynamic session about overcoming addiction. We welcome you as you are to this brave space.
Nazizi Hirji

We are thrilled that Nazizi will be joining Kisima Festival.
Nazizi is a Musician and radio host. She is a pioneering figure in the East African music scene, and has a career spanning over two decades. She first gained prominence as a member of the group Necessary Noize, alongside Wyre and Bamzigi, creating some of Kenya’s most iconic hits, including “Kenyan Girl, Kenyan Boy” and “Bless My Room.”
Her music is characterized by socially conscious lyrics, blending personal experiences with broader societal issues. In addition to her work with Necessary Noize, she was also part of the East African Bashment Crew.
Nazizi is the host of the Roots Diary podcast, which details per personal journey into stardom. Perhaps her most foundational role has been that of a mother to two beautiful sons.
Nazizi will be hosting a grief tending circle. Welcome to unite in this shared journey.
Heather Gordon Athie

Wim Hof Method
This event is the full Wim Hof Method experience! Participants will learn about the three pillars of the Wim Hof Method; Conscious Breathwork, Cold Therapy and Mindset & Commitment!
Participants will go full pelt with an exhilarating ice immersion, and powerful breathwork, led by Kenya’s only certified Wim Hof Method Instructor!
About Heather
Heather is a certified Level 3 Wim Hof Method Instructor, the only certified instructor in Kenya! She runs expeditions and retreats with Wim himself, and teacher training with the Innerfire Academy. She is also a Mental Resilience Trainer, Somatic Yoga Teacher and Nutritional Health coach. She is passionate about helping others to lead dynamic, healthy and happy lives and is highly engaging in her teaching style.
Kerstin Sommer

Facilitator and Coach
Kerstin believes in the transformative power of connecting humans with nature and animals. As the founder of HorseBay in Watamu, she combines her lifelong passion for horses with 20 years of experience at the United Nations. Her expertise lies in embodied and intuitive transformation. Kerstin is certified in Transpersonal Coaching Psychology by the International Association of Coaches, Therapists, and Mentors (IACTM).
She will be showing us the magical world of healing with horses during the festival and a workshop in Animal Communication with Pau.
Find her at @horse_bay_watamu and www.horsebaywatamu.com
Ephraim Walakira

Ephraim Walakira
Walakira Ephraim is a performer, dance teacher, trainer and a choreographer. Specialized in Ugandan traditional and cultural dances, hip-hop, dance-hall, contemporary and a percussion instrumentalist currently working with Makerere department of performing arts,KATUUYO DANCE SESSIONS,Afrique Arts troupe, Warom dance company, and also a Solo dancer as Ephtalented.
He will be sharing KATUUYO TRADITIONAL AFRICAN DANCE SESSION at Kisima Festival, a dance class that offers fitness and wellness healing through African traditional dance.
Find him at @ephtalented
Mukendi Misenga Christine

Mukendi Misenga Christine is a Congolese-born, Kenya-based multidisciplinary artist, fire dancer, and aerialist. She is the founder of BISO Learning, empowering youth through creative education. A seasoned performer both locally and internationally, Kisima Festival marks her debut as a fire dance workshop facilitator, inviting others to reconnect with their inner fire and shared humanity.
She will share fire dance workshops and aerial trapeze for adults and children.
Find her at @misenga_moukendi
Paula Mujer Naturaleza

Pau – Mujer Naturaleza
Lover of Nature, animals and ancient wisdom. Certified Life Coach, Menstrual and Integral Cyclicality Therapist, Facilitator of Womb and Uterine Memories Healing. Certified Teacher of Ovarian Breathing, Feminine Alchemy, Feminine Sexuality, Alchemical Breathing, Sacred Sexuality, Tantra and Herbalism. She accompanies women and men in their journeys of Self-Knowledge, remembering our Feminine Nature, Wisdom and Healing power, to bring balance and integration of all parts of ourselves. Paula’s work integrates meditation, breath-work, movement, dance, yoni eggs, medicinal herbs and more. She is also passionate about the connection with Nature and Animals and she is trained in Animal Communication, Animal Reiki and Shamanic surgery for animals.
She will be facilitating Tantra, Alchemical Breathing, Uterine Memories Healing and a workshop on Animal Communication with Kerstin.
Find her at @mujernaturalezapau and www.mujernaturaleza.com
Neha

Neha Erasmus
Neha is a Shaman, Seer, Teacher, Facilitation & Advisor. She works at the intersection of spirituality and our physical world. She connects the knowledge and practice of spirituality to the transformation of personal, social and global realities. Neha’s work is based on the truth that within each of us is all the power and potential of the Cosmos. She works with individuals, groups and organisations to help them understand and access this power, and to use it to create abundance in our lives and in the world.
She will inspire us with spiritual, political and philosophy sessions.
Find her at @spolosophy and www.spolosophy.com
Saddam Yusuf Shariff

Saddam, founder of Kaya Aerial Fitness, is a renowned yoga instructor, aerial artist, and entrepreneur with 7+ years in wellness. Certified in aerial yoga and silks, he blends body mechanics and mindfulness to create transformative experiences. A graduate of Africa Yoga Project and acrobatics-trained with Sarakasi, Saddam empowers students to explore their potential through aerial arts and yoga. His captivating performances and dedication to innovation make him an a deal fitness instructor.
Nick will assist Saddy in all the aerial classes.
They will be facilitating Aerial Yoga and Aerial silks for all ages at the festival!
Find him at @Saddy_Yusuf @Kaya_Aerial_Fitness
Mugisha Ali Allan

Mugisha Ali Allan is a Pan-African wellness activist, yoga teacher, and curator, dedicated to healing, mindfulness, and community empowerment. He is from Uganda and he has been practicing Yoga since 2015 and he is a multidisciplinary Holistic practitioner teaching and sharing Meditation, Hatha, Yin, Vinyasa and the Aerial Yoga in addition to the Qi Gong and the Children Instrumental Hatha Yoga.
He will be sharing Liberation Body Work and Instrumental Hatha Yoga at Kisima Festival.
Find him at @alimugisha8
Oriane Tourny Torode

Oriane aims to inspire her students to embrace the magic of yoga & incorporates her health coaching knowledge into her classes. She is profoundly passionate about helping people live a better life. She is a functional health coach (Certified Coach by Integrative Institute, Applied Functional Medicine & ODX for blood tests analyse). She leads programmes & workshops for individuals and groups. She has been practicing and sharing multiple Yoga tools for over 20 years. Her yoga practices and sharing include ashtanga vinyasa, Dharma yoga, Yin yoga.
She will share Yoga, Health and Journalling workshop and a mapping workshop on earth spirit & self energy at Kisima!
Find her at @orianebyo
www.lifestylesmedicine.org
Baibui

Baibui is an ecological artist and energy weaver exploring the sacred relationship between humans, nature, spirit, and life. Through immersive exhibitions, organic dye/color workshops, Plant & Sense sessions, land art, and silent-listening spaces, the practice invites a return to rightful relationship—with life and nature as the extended self. Works have been shared across Kenya, Arizona ,artkwajirani, NftAfrikasummit, Kisima Festival, Beneath the Baobabs, and more.
She will be sharing workshops of Plants and sense for adults and kids at the festival.
Yo can find her at @The_baibui and www.thebaibuistudios.art
Chandvi

Chandvi is a Holistic Trauma Therapist weaving therapeutic modalities with plant medicine ceremonies, to hold space with love for deep healing and transformation. In 2016, she took a leap of faith and travelled to Peru, to pilgrimage through the mountains. This journey unravelled many truths and I found herself connecting deeper to her heart. This was the beginning of a beautiful journey, and she trained in various therapeutic modalities and plant medicines. Over time, she has weaved all that she has learnt to hold space in her own unique way. To create a space from the heart, where all parts of us can surface and be seen, and ultimately be integrated with deep love and acceptance.
She will be facilitating a Cacao Ceremony, Family Constellations workshops and a Rose Ritual at Kisima Festival.
Find her at @therapy_with_chandvi
www.chandvishah.com
Narissa Allibhai

Sound healing artist, facilitator & teacher. Founder of Sound Healing Africa and co-founder of Conscious Kenya. Nada yoga practitioner (yoga of sound and vibration) with Indian bamboo flute (bansuri), Himalayan singing bowls, voice, kalimba, rattles, shakers and gongs. Nepali tutelage. Certified Hatha yoga, pranayama, meditation and mindfulness teacher. Holistic wellness consultant. Unique retreats around Kenya. Nari loves meditating on rocks and sharing loving hugs with dogs, trees & humans.
She will take you through shamanic sound journeys during the festival.
Find her at @journeywithnari @soundhealingafrica
@consciouskenya
Melina Moors

Melina is a Nairobi-based yoga teacher and holistic wellness practitioner. Her offerings include energetic multi-style yoga, slow-paced yin yoga, Thai yoga massage, and handpan sound journeys. She integrates movement, breathwork, meditation, sound, touch and aromatherapy to activate healing, personal growth and higher states of consciousness.
She will be facilitating Yin Yoga, Thai Yoga massage workshop, Partner Yoga and the beautiful sound of her handpan.
Find her at @melinamoors
Rebekah Sauder

Rebekah, a yoga teacher with a Master’s in chemical engineering, blends yogic and scientific knowledge to help people cultivate awareness and mettā. For the past 15 years, she has lived in a rural town in Tanzania, where the stillness of the collective consciousness has allowed her to deepen her practices. Tanzanians have been her greatest teachers—peaceful, community-minded, and connected to one another.
She will be teaching Hatha Yoga, The Shadow Side (Shadripu): From Survival Instincts to Conscious Awareness and The Science of Breathing.
Find her at www.rebekahyoga.com
Danny Stoker

Danny has been a Kriya Yoga practitioner and student of spiritual wisdom for the past decade. He was initiated into Babji’s Kriya Yoga lineage in 2018 and recently begun to share the practices he has received from his teachers in order to bring to light the subtler aspects of yoga. Danny is a coach and HR professional living in Nairobi with his wife and two daughters.
Danny will be sharing Hatha Kriya Yoga and Kriya Meditation at Kisima Festival.
Shayur Shah

Shayur weaves together mindfulness, music, dance and connection with nature through practices such as ecstatic dance, cacao, meditation, kirtan and contact improv.
He will make us dance with Ecstatic Dance and contact Improvisation during the festival.
Viktor Kioko

Victor is a certified dancer, dance teacher specialize in Dancehall and Flow Movement, and workshop facilitator passionate about the transformative power of dance. HIs sessions go beyond just movement—they foster confidence, creativity, and a deep sense of community.
He will facilitate dancehall and flow movement at the Festival.
Find him at @vibrantvic_official
Jaini Shah

Jaini Shah is a former lawyer turned Food Relationship Coach and Rapid Transformational Therapist. After healing from burnout and Hashimoto’s, she now helps others transform their relationship with food, build self-confidence, and feel truly alive. Through a unique blend of mindful eating, food psychology, and subconscious work, she guides people to break free from emotional eating and step into vibrant health and lasting freedom.
She will be facilitating workshops on Emotional Eating and Mindful Eating for adults and children.
Find her at @mizz_jaini
Maria Sgroi

Maria is known as the Soul Trainer. She is an Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, a Nutritionist, a Cooking Teacher, a Therapist in Craniosacral Balancing and Ayurveda Remedial Massage. She believes the the holistic approach to health and wellness involves many dimensions. makes up the whole person and honors the interdependent relationship between the body, mind, spirit and the human connection with nature.
Connect with her by email on mariasgroims@gmail.com and whatsapp on +393669968354
Lawrence Kahindi

Lawrence Kahindi is an ecological restoration & agroecosystems specialist with 7 years of experience in forestry, species propagation, and land regeneration. His expertise spans biodiversity mapping, regenerative agriculture, and community-based conservation, shaped by extensive fieldwork across the East African coastal forests. At Green Heart Kilifi, he leads the implementation of a holistic farm and land-use strategy that integrates economically viable food production with ecosystem recovery by overseeing the transformation of degraded land into productive and biodiverse systems including the restoration of Green Heart’s 100-acre Green Corridor.
Tommaso Menini

Tommaso Menini is the Founder and CEO of African Agency for Arid Resources Limited (Agar Ltd), an award-winning company and the parent of the brand Essenza. He started his work on arid land’s economic development 10 years ago in Karamoja-Uganda and he continued in Kenya through the enhancement of alternative livelihoods such as gum Arabic, resins (Frankincense, Myrrh), aloe and beekeeping. Tommaso founded Agar with the vision to support the empowerment of pastoralist communities in the East African ASAL through the sustainable exploitation of natural forest resources, providing them with market access and professional technical advice on selected value chains. He has been an international panelist for his field experience in climate adaptation finance and the efforts in land restoration in arid lands using drought resistant crops to regenerate degraded lands, Tommaso is a fervent conservationist and from 2019 a FAO consultant.
Zaka Haki

What Is Kemetic Yoga?
Kemetic yoga, which originated in Egypt, focuses on the movement of energy through the body in order to connect with one’s higher intelligence and the divine. One practices Kemetic yoga at a much slower pace than in a standard asana class, and there is more of a focus on meditation and the chakras (energy centers). The physical poses of Kemetic yoga are taken from ancient illustrations of Egyptian gods and goddesses. It is a practice with African roots that has been largely ignored by mainstream yoga culture. This is not surprising given the history of oppression against people of African descent in North America. The contributions of people of color to modern society rarely make it into history books even though they played a huge part in the development of modern world culture.
Sister Tibebwa

Sister Tibebwa is a healer, guide, and mother figure based in East Africa for over 25 years, specializing in balance between, shadow and light, body and spirit, emotions and logic, feminine and masculine, and in healing with herbs, wise words, detoxing, yoga, nutrition, trauma release and reconnection to pleasure.
She is passionate about community healing, women’s empowerment, and earth regeneration, and hosts Full-Moon/New-Moon Circles connecting us back to the healing cycles of Nature.
She will be teaching Ipsalu Tantra Kriya Yoga at the Festival.
Games for Mental Health

Empowering individuals through games, music, and discussions to promote mental health awareness, combat stigma, and provide support for all.
Denise Vanessa

Denise has started as a tarot reader, a skill that was transferred to her by her mother. Starting her personal healing journey, she travelled to rishikesh in India and did her first training as a Yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner, and from that many other doors opened to her as and individual looking for healing and as newly therapist looking for the best modalities to support others. Since then, she experienced several modalities and trained as psychotherapist, who combines both science and holistic work.
She will be facilitating Cognitive hypnosis, somatic, sound and energy healing at the festival.
Find her at @therapyby.denisevanessa
Linda Jazzar

Linda Jazzar is a certified life and leadership coach passionate in supporting individuals cultivate self-connection, clarity & confidence. Based in Kenya, she blends coaching, somatic body work, and horse-guided empowerment to support people unlock their full potential. With a diverse background in business, dance, yoga, Linda offers coaching for individuals, groups, and teams, guiding them through transformative experiences that foster authenticity, bold decision-making, and personal growth.
She will be facilitating Belly Dance and Coaching with Horses at the Festival.
Find her at www.lindajazzarcoaching.com
Ida Grum

Ida Grum is a passionate leadership facilitator and certified professional coach who helps individuals and teams connect more deeply, collaborate more effectively, and lead with purpose. As founder of Mbele Consult, she has spent 20+ years designing and delivering interactive workshops that foster trust, shared purpose, and knowledge exchange to enhance team effectiveness. Her workshops create dynamic, participatory spaces where people learn to lead —and together deliver results that matter.
She will facilitate team and community building workshops during the festival.
Find her at @mbele_consult
April Kelley

April Kelley, MS (Human Nutrition), MPH, NBC-HWC, is a clinical nutritionist trained in functional medicine and microbiome therapeutics, where she helps women address chronic health conditions through personalized nutrition. Drawing from 20+ years managing her own digestive autoimmune condition and implementing public health initiatives in Africa, April combines clinical expertise with systems thinking to address root causes of disease and the rising chronic illness epidemic.
She will be teaching different workshop around gut health for adults and children.
Find her at @aprilkelleyhealth
www.aprilkelleyhealth.com
Zoe Goodman

Zoë Goodman (she/her) is an anthropologist and facilitator with 15 years of experience at top universities, non-profit organizations and the UN. Zoë is the founder of ‘Rebellious Care: Caring for ourselves + each other through the body’, a facilitation practice which offers creative and body-centred workshops to support participants to address anxiety and burnout, connect with others and build collective accountability structures. She has been doing research in Mombasa for over a decade.
She will facilitating Theatre of the Oppressed for adults and children and a workshop on Embodying Consent.
You can find her at www.rebelliouscare.org and @rebellious.care
Elvis Waithaka Gitau

Elvis is a dynamic art educator, storyteller, and performer. With a strong background in literature, history, and the performing arts, I bring a creative and inclusive approach helping children discover their potential through artistic expression.
As the voice behind Shujaa Stories, he also uses storytelling to celebrate African history and culture, inspiring a deep sense of identity and pride in young audiences. His work goes beyond the brush and canvas—it’ about nurturing creativity, building confidence.
He will be sharing Creative Art & Craft Sessions & mindfulness for children at the festival!
You can find him in @waithaka_teacher and www.kujali.co.ke
Nicole and Aimée Hankar

We are Nicole and Aimée Hankar — sisters, soul guides, and co-founders of The Hankar Sisters sanctuary. Our work is rooted in our own lived journey through trauma, shadow, and deep remembrance. Everything we offer — from somatic healing to soul activations — has been forged through our personal path of transformation. It’s through walking ourselves home that we now guide others to do the same, with reverence, presence, and embodied truth.
They will be sharing the The Rite of Reweaving at Kisima Festival this year.
Find them in @hankarsisters and www.hankarsisters.com
Furaha

Furaha is a celebrated Kenyan music journalist, events host and DJ. For over 7 years, she has championed alternative Kenyan artists through her platform LaMusicJunkie. Her current focus is on exploring and sharing Kenya’s rich musical history and culture.
She will make us move through the Kenyan music together with Fela and will facilitate an Espiritual Open Mic with Sahar.
Find her in @amkatukatike and @lamusicjunkie
Fela

Fela is a mixed movement coach with a decade of experience in teaching ashtanga yoga, animal movement and mobility. A long term practitioner of martial arts and capoeira, his journey has taken him as far as Brazil and Thailand. With Certifications in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Kundalini Yoga level 1, Yoga Angels teacher training, Pilates and Power Yoga. He is constantly researching different movement modalities for optimal health and longevity.
He will make us move through Kenyan dance with Furaha and practice Animal Movement.
Find him at mixedmovementfela
www.lifestylesmedicine.org
Henry Anyanga

Jordan Filko

Jordan is qualified as an Expressive Arts Facilitator and an art therapist in training, pursuing her Masters in Expressive Arts Therapy from the European Graduate School. She is certified as a teacher of Vinyasa, Yin and Baptiste Power Yoga from Karuna Yoga Journeys and Africa Yoga Project.
She will facilitate Expressive art to adults and children at the Festival.
Find her at @jordanfilko
Nelson

Nelson is a Theatre of the Oppressed Facilitator and Teacher. This workshop is about rehearsing freedoms – about building alternatives to interlocking systems of oppression, such as racism, sexism, ableism and beyond – through a revolutionary style of participatory theatre developed by Brazilian Augusto Boal. Participants will be invited to explore everyday experiences of discrimination and micro-aggression, as well as possible ways to transform these, through powerful theatre techniques.