My family grew up perched on the edge of the sheer rift escarpment in Kenya. Having not seen it until I was 29 years old, I had no connection to it until I rounded the corner at Nakuru where the road felt like it dropped into the lake of pink flamingos, some 500m below me. It was the most spectacular scene I had ever come across and it cemented in me a love for Kenya that remains to this day. Little did I know then, that this was just a tiny part of the Rift Valley, a geological wonder that runs from Ethiopia all the way to Mozambique, slowly and sometimes not so quietly, tearing Africa apart. 

 

It is fairly young, in its 25 millions years of tearing Africa apart, it has created some incredible landscapes – mountains, rain forests, woodlands, savannas and open grasslands. It is these landscapes that wildlife readily succeeded in, multiplied and importantly, speciated and radiated - creating the most diverse mammal abundance in the world. The geological tearing created volcanos, who’s ash clouds nourished the plains of east Africa providing rocket fuel for massive wildlife populations like the great migration. Mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates were locked onto the volcanoes of the eastern Rift arc. In South Luangwa, animals were hemmed in by the rift escarpment, creating an evolutionary petri dish of speciation which we can see today.

 

Likewise, the same diverse habitats, 3 million years ago, provided the perfect habitat for hominins and hominids to excel. The result- humans, us, you, me. There is no greater record of a repository mans origins on earth than within the confines of the Rift valley. The Rift provided shade, water and lush land filled with animals. Today many cultures with strong links to the original attractions still live in the Rift. Living a life linked mostly to cattle whilst maintaining a strong identity.

 

Much of the most fertile areas of the Rift have today become urban hubs with great cities, such as Addis Ababa and Nairobi. 500 million people move in and out of the Rift daily. This brings environmental challenges. Where does the electricity come from, what happens if the many famous lakes run out of fish stocks? These challenges are a daily existence in the Rift.

 

In true paradoxical fashion, the shearing apart of Africa is the binding fabric of everything great on this continent. Our vision is to showcase and celebrate the significance of this. The Rift has a lot to offer us in today’s world. This project is more than a celebration of great imagery. It’s a tool to educate and inspire. We are paying homage to the past, reflecting on the present and preparing for the future.