The elevation of Nakuru town to city status has attracted youthful, energetic, and health-conscious residents who have taken the area by storm and encouraged new businesses such as gyms, and saunas in residential areas.
Peter Koech a businessman and innovator of firewood saunas said the demand has surprised him, and a number of people are more than willing to pay sh.1000 per session since they are convinced that it’s good for their health.
He noted that the easiest commodity to sell in the current world, even to the very poor, was anything labeled natural since society has been conditioned to believe that it’s the magic wand for all their problems.
Koech said he builds his saunas using local timber and the heat is produced from the well-arranged logs that emit sweet aromas when they are sprayed with boiled herbs, which he sources mainly from Baringo County.
He noted that confinement of a person to a room with higher temperatures than the natural 37 body centigrade, was healthy since it opens the pores and forces fast sweating that cleanses the body of any impurities.
Giving an example of the current outbreak of colds and coughs in the city he said, a seat in the sauna not only reduces the coughing but it opens up the blocked nostrils, and the herbs end the burning sessions in the throat.
He attributed the wide-ranging coughs and colds in the city to the congested estates which make the virus move faster, and school children who inadvertently infect their parents.
However, he said the use of masks during the covid-19 epidemic and the regular washing of hands was an effective protection against the fast-spreading coughs among residents.
By Veronica Bosibori
