THE HAIRPOLITAN MAGAZINE VOL 5 APRIL 2017

Image by Eva de Vries
Wachu is our very own Naturalista reality star that we
love to watch. We’ve fallen in love with her dynamic
hairstyles, her eclectic fashion, her travel posts, her
vibrancy and even her wall. Yes, you read right, she
has a wall that she’s posed in front of for the last
5 years and we in the Natural hair community are
hooked. Sadly, she moved recently and we’re yet to
collectively approve the next surface that will serve
as her backdrop. Tune in next episode to see how
this all goes.
When I meet her as scheduled, Wachu is donning
an awesome 70s inspired wig. She claims she made
it for her Mother and was only test running it. I
chuckle! As one of the Founders & members of the
Kurlly Diaries, a natural hair Facebook group, she
keeps us quite entertained and active in the group.
However, the natural hair vixen actually has a day
job, and one that she is keen to point out is not all
glamorous.
DESIGNING SPACES
Wachu works as a Museum Designer & Developer at
the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi, “I build
museums and exhibitions. What that means is that
if someone has an idea or concept that needs to be
translated into a museum or exhibition I help them
conceptualize and execute.” The Judiciary of Kenya
Museum is one of her most recent projects. Wachu
and her team converted the holding cells that were
in the basement of the Supreme Court building, into
a Judiciary Museum open to the public. “The project
took three and a half years. We removed years of
debris, remodeled it and rebuilt it with a contractor.
As that was happening there was conceptualizing,
research, developing the story and benchmarking
with similar museums in the world. So there is a lot
of work.”
Interior Design. However, getting to receive her
degree didn’t come easy. She first enrolled in
Business School at the USIU, Nairobi campus;
where she quit after a year. Business was just
not the right fit. She then took a sabbatical to
find a design school in South Africa but wasn’t
successful. Eventually she found the American
World University where she eventually attained
her Degree. “I was great! They got me a lecturer
from the University of Nairobi. So it was my
lecturer & I working privately for two and a half
years.”
When she joined the National Museum, the
Director saw potential in her and seconded her
to go Seoul, South Korea. There she learned
everything she needed to know about designing
for museums. As she talks about her experience
there I realise that is perhaps when her love for
what she does set in. “What I love about the
Museum is that with every new project is the
immersion into a new world,” she explains.
HAIR GURU
Interestingly, Wachu has another day job. She
works as a Natural Hair consultant and in charge
of the Client Experience at Amadiva Beauty. I ask
her how one can get a styling consult with her,
and she advises one set an appointment at the
salon. Otherwise she can be found at Amadiva
loosely on Tuesday afternoons and Saturday
mornings.
The partnership with Amadiva Beauty all started
with her chance encounter with Maureen
Murunga (Founder of Amadiva) at the Naturals in
Nairobi event held in 2015. They hit it off and in
January of the next year, Maureen requested her
to take up creative direction for the inaugural
#30DaysNaturally campaign. The project was
quite a success and it made perfect sense when
Maureen asked her to take up a permanent job at
Amadiva. Wachu highly considered the offer but
declined. “I was having a downtime career wise and
felt that I had stagnated in life. I had lived in the
same house for 9 years and had the same job for 10.
But I didn’t want to ever translate my passion [hair]
to something that would become a chore.”
WACHU’S CHILDHOOD
I enquire who Wachu was at 6 years old and how that
affected the woman she is now. She explains that she
had a deliberately creative childhood. “The way we
grew up, we had to create our own entertainment.”
Her siblings and her grew up without a TV, “My Dad
would hire a projector when he wanted us to watch
a film that he felt was necessary for our wellbeing.”
They had lots of books and even a life size playhouse.
At the tender age 4 she knew how to sew and even
made her own ‘Naturalista’ doll. This in effect gave
her no other choice but to be the creative being she
is now. I enquire if she would raise her children the
same way her parents did.
I DON’T WANT TO HAVE KIDS
I won’t lie; I did a double take when she responded.
I really want to understand what would bring her to
such a decision. She is quick to make it clear that her
childhood was great and her parents are awesome
so let it be clear that her decision didn’t stem from
anything negative. “I think the responsibility of
raising kids, requires for one to be so intentional
about it; and I don’t have it in me,” she explains.
The decision came to her at the age of 20. She says
she wants to get married, even have pets but is
certain she doesn’t want children. “My parents know.
My girlfriends, especially those who’ve known me
for long, know and understand. But there are those
who are still waiting for me to change my mind. If I
am dating I tell them on date number one.”
However, she does go on to explain that in the initial
years she struggled with explaining it to herself, let
alone anyone else. But as she’s grown older, she
realizes she doesn’t need to do so. “When I was
younger I really struggled. Initially, I felt the need
to explain it to people. I studied existentialism
because I thought I needed to have a deep reason. I
went from one phase of explanation to another, but
now I am at a place where I don’t need to explain it
to anyone.”
At the end of the day, I realise that she’s comfortable
in her life choice; and a personal choice is just that,
personal.
It’s been quite a revelation to me and as we wind
down the interview I asked her what’s in store from
her in 2017. She lets in on a project that she’s working
on but that we can’t reveal. All I can say is watch this
space for the great things the mind of Wachu that
she has planned for us.
FOLLOW WACHU ON HER BLOG:
www.wachuwanjaria.wordpress.com
Image by Studio Photogeric
I’d like to know what one would have had to study
to take up such a job, the answer is very simple –
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