Chwele is a town in
Bungoma County
Bungoma County is a county in the former Western Province of Kenya. Its capital is Bungoma town. It has a population of 1,670,570 of which 812,146 are males 858,389 females as per the 2019 census and an area of 2,069 km2. It has nine constitu ...
,
Kenya. The town is an agricultural marketing centre located between
Kimilili and
Bungoma. The market is the major meeting point for farmers from the surrounding areas of
Mount Elgon
Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda. ,
Namwela,
Sirisia,
Lurende,
Matibo and
Chebukaka especially every Monday when there is a market day (flea market). Large quantities of maize, bananas, local vegetables, sim sim as well as livestock such as chicken, goats, cattle and sheep are available for sale. The market is Kenya's second largest open air market. The urban population was 9,797 (2019 census).
The area is inhabited by the
Bukusu
The Bukusu people ( Bukusu: ''Babukusu'') are one of the seventeen Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are closely related to other Luhya people and the Gisu of ...
people and there is a growing populations of Saboats, Tesos and even Kikuyus. Schools in the area include Chwele Girls High school, Namwela Secondary school, Busakala High school, Teremi High school among others. The area has a health center that caters for the local community and it has both in-patient and out-patient facilities. It nowadays boosts of a medical training institute (Chwele MTC) located at the Junction of Khachonge/Bukembe Road. The center is also home to the Chwele coffee cooperative society and the Chwele grain marketing cereals bank initiated by SACRED Africa, a local NGO operating in the area.
The area has rich black volcanic soils that are suitable for growing many crops with very good yields. The area also receives over 1500mm of rain in a year mostly between the months of March and August.
External links
SACRED Africa NGO
Chwele Health Clinic*https://kmtc.ac.ke/chwele/
References
Populated places in Bungoma County
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