Meet Elizabeth, the fiercely smart, slightly irreverent dreamer behind Olepangi Farm - a soulful farm retreat at the foothills of Mount Kenya, where land, community, and beauty come together to create something timeless and deeply nourishing.
The Friendly Introduction: She’s the real deal - a storyteller, farmer, and creator of beautiful things. Fiercely smart, deeply determined, and ever so slightly irreverent. Friends say she lives with muddy boots and a head full of ideas. She believes in horses, books, good gin, and planting trees for a future she might never see. Olepangi is her way of living out those values - one wildflower, one idea, one guest at a time.
The Inspiration: After years in the corporate world, I craved something real - rooted in land, community, and meaning. Olepangi started as a wild idea and became a way of life: a farm retreat where beauty, good conversation, and the deep magic of Africa come together to nourish the soul.
The Meaning: We found the name in a tree book - Olepangi is the Maasai word for Erythrina Abyssinica, a coral tree. It sounded right, felt right, so we claimed it. After much laughter and elder consultation, it was agreed: Olepangi means “an Erythrina at the top of a steep hill.” Like everything here, the name reflects a dance with land and people - rooted in place and shaped by story.
The Dream: We just want to keep getting better - more fun, more beauty, more purpose. Maybe one day my stepchildren will join. I dream of more farming, more art, more joy for kids and grown-ups alike. More wellness. The truth? It already feels like a dream. I guess I’d just like to worry less about money!
The Motto: “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up space.” It’s a motto that built Olepangi. This place grew from risk, grit, and a stubborn kind of hope. We wake each day asking how to be better - not perfect, just better. Because playing it safe rarely leads to anything extraordinary.
The Promise of Slowness: Olepangi runs on slow time - birdsong, bread rising, cow bells in the distance. Long walks, lingering meals, firelight chats. It’s luxuriously old-fashioned, made for deep rest. And yet, time slips away. Four nights feel like two. Six weeks vanish. Perhaps slowness is living so fully, you forget to count the hours.
Nature Therapy: We don’t ‘connect’ to nature - we live in it. We sleep to birdsong, ride with zebras, eat from the soil. Everything at Olepangi is designed with biophilia in mind - beauty, light, air, life. Nature isn’t a weekend escape here. It’s Tuesday morning. And it’s everything.
