Kilifi Creek, KenyaOur StoryA small ecolodge with a long stay
Distant Relatives has been part of Kilifi for over a decade — built by hand, run by the people who live here.
How we got here
A creekside refuge, built one season at a time
We started as a backpackers in 2011 with three rooms, a kitchen and a lot of optimism. Years later we still answer to that. The lodge has grown but our compass has not — host travellers like family, hire and train Kenyans first, build slowly with what the land gives us, leave the place quieter than we found it.
What we believe
Three quiet rules
Local timber. Local hands.
Built Lightly
Every banda, dome and dorm at Distant Relatives was made by Kenyan craftspeople from materials that grow within an hour of Kilifi. Nothing imported when something nearby would do.
A working permaculture garden
From the Soil Up
A few hundred metres of beds, a chicken house, a worm farm, and the kitchen that pulls from all three. Slow growth, no shortcuts, real food.
Run by the people who live here
Hosted Like Family
The whole team lives within an hour of the lodge. They are not staff — they are your hosts. Many have been here for the better part of a decade.