shamba la mawe

Swahili

Etymology

Literally, “rocky farmland”.

Noun

shamba la mawe (ma class, no plural)

1. a reference to Nairobi, which is often seen as a tough place
   • 2014 March 9, Kenfrey Kiberenge, Carlos Mureithi, “Why ‘city in the sun’ is losing its shine”, in Nation‎^[1] (in English):

     But while some call it Shamba la Mawe (rocky farmland) for its hardships

   • 2021 May 17, Brian Ndungu, “Kenyans narrate tough life lessons they learnt in Nairobi”, in Kiss100‎^[2] (in English):

     'Nairobi ni shamba la mawe.' got to be one of my favorite Kenyan sayings.

   • 2020 April 14, Julie Zollmann, Amolo Ng'weno, Anne Gachoka, Catherine Wanjala, “Shamba bora (fertile farmland), Shamba la mawe (rocky farmland)”, in BFA Global‎^[3] (in English):

     Many in cities also feel they can’t really call on neighbors to help. When our researcher asked whether there was more sharing of food and other resources in the neighborhood, Fiona scoffed. “Sharing?! No. Nairobi ni shamba la mawe.” [Nairobi is a tough place, literally “rocky farmland”.]