By Aggrey Nshekanabo
The road to Martha’s Farmhouse is winding and with no signage right from the main road at Kisowera off Mukono-Kalagi road. When you finally arrive at the house, you know it was a worthy drive. About three years ago, someone pointed me to Martha’s Farmhouse in Genda village in Mukono when I was looking for a family gateway. Unfortunately, I didn’t take it up.
However, the idea of a hospitality farmhouse kept tagging at my heart. When my writings were finally pinpointed to destinations, Martha’s Farmhouse spirit rose again. Off we went to Martha’s house in Nama, Mukono district.
Martha’s Farmhouse has no road sign whatsoever anywhere in Mukono and only on the wall of the farmhouse. According to Norah, the curator of Martha’s Farmhouse, this is intentional.
“We want the clients who come to us to be protected from intrusion and to enjoy total privacy. Besides, this is not a walk-in facility and our clients are pre-booked. This is a digital era and guests can find us on Google Maps. So, it is still possible to find us without the traditional means of road signs” Norah explains.
This was the case with me in finding Martha’s Farmhouse. I was in contact with Norah and followed the Google Maps but the community was very helpful in leading us to Martha’s Farmhouse. The community is a great beneficiary of Martha’s Farmhouse from its Community Social Responsibility of which, 10 percent of its income to the community for social change.
We finally arrived at Martha’s house and it was worth every effort. The last landmark before reaching the farmhouse is the rusty Buliika Health Centre II and Ssejinja Junior Academy signposts from which, you turn left through a humble village and then a grand tiled house welcomes you at the end.
Now, Martha’s Farmhouse is named after the late Martha, a mother of three who worked hard to single-handedly raise her children. The three are grateful for their mother’s toil and in remembrance of her hard work, chose to name this gem after her.
Martha’s Farmhouse sits on an acre of land. This enclosure includes a swimming pool, a gazebo, badminton court and a well-manicured garden for relaxation at the front yard. On the left of the house, is a fireplace where if the evening turns chilly and guests want to be outdoors, they can stay warm.
The swimming pool area has sitting pockets for one to chill out while the front-yard, which faces the sunsetting has a tea plantation ahead to complete the magical beauty.
The external kitchen gives the village feel since food is cooked on energy saving firewood powered stoves and a modernized dishrack, where kitchen utensils are kept to drip. The inner kitchen in the main house is exuberant and exudes modern living lined with modern kitchen utensils complete with gas cookers and other kitchen knickknacks.
The lounge is extremely neat and extravagantly expansive to give it the serenity that guests would be looking for.
There is a huge satellite TV set for those who want to keep in touch with the rest of the world in news and sport. The walls are lined with books and DVSs that when you retreat to this place, you do not completely feel out of place. The main house has three bedrooms. The main room has a king size bed and two bathrooms including one with a transparent roof. The other two bedrooms, while not self-contained, there is a shared bathroom that is easily accessed by the occupants of the two rooms. According to Norah, this too was intentional to give the facility a home feel. The verandah is extended to the front to allow sitting of over 30 people.
According to Jim Lumansi, who was our guide during the tour and is a nephew of this household said that this porch was also intentional to give guests another outdoor feel. “In fact, many guests love to have their meals at the verandah especially dinner as they see the sun go westwards over the tea-plantation. This adds beauty to the facility but also breakfast is also great here since it gives the guests a great morning feel and allows them to have a good breakfast spread;” Lumansi says.
Finally, we had a tour of the farm. The farm grows majorly coffee, vanilla and matooke. And now that school holidays are here, I strongly advise that families take their children to Martha’s Farmhouse to give them a farm feel. They will be able to look after coffee and harvest some, see how vanilla is manually pollinated; a rare plant occurrence since we have majorly known pollination to take place through wind or by bees.
Martha’s farmhouse is that much needed place for family retreats, team building expeditions and just the right place to go and chill as a group. Groups are allowed to pitch tents but also because of the growing numbers, there is a new house called Martha’s Barn with four self-contained bedrooms and private pool that will be ready next Easter.
Aggrey is a travel writer and team leader at; https://www.facebook.com/MotelNaalya
Email: aggrey@kyamburasafaris.com; Tel: +256775414596
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