Kenya Pipeline Company ( KPC ) is a state corporation that has the responsibility of transporting, storing and delivering petroleum products to the consumers of Kenya by its pipeline system and oil depot network.
113-467: The Kenya Pipeline Company was incorporated on 6 September 1973 and started commercial operations in 1978. The company is a state corporation under the Ministry of Energy with 100% government shareholding. Kenya Pipeline Company operates a pipeline system for transportation of refined petroleum products from Mombasa to Nairobi and western Kenya towns of Nakuru , Kisumu and Eldoret . Working closely with
226-430: A fiber , called coir , which has many traditional and commercial uses. Both the exocarp and the mesocarp make up the "husk" of the coconut, while the endocarp makes up the hard coconut "shell". The endocarp is around 4 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 8 inch) thick and has three distinctive germination pores ( micropyles ) on the distal end. Two of the pores are plugged (the "eyes"), while one is functional. The interior of
339-572: A cultural icon of the tropics . The coconut tree provides food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine and building materials, among many other uses. The inner flesh of the mature seed, as well as the coconut milk extracted from it, forms a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics . Coconuts are distinct from other fruits because their endosperm contains a large quantity of an almost clear liquid, called " coconut water " or "coconut juice". Mature, ripe coconuts can be used as edible seeds, or processed for oil and plant milk from
452-460: A general lack of infrastructure. Poverty, lack of sanitation, and unemployment continue to be the greatest issues for the Mikindani Township, which have ensured low health and safety standards for its residents. Poor, lower class housing is widespread, ranging from simple stone, two-storey structures to mud and earth homes fitted with corrugated iron roofs. Much of the community works outside of
565-453: A pipeline connecting the oil fields in that country to the existing South-Eldoret-Mombasa pipeline in Kenya. In 2016, it was announced that KPC has secured $ 350 million to install a new 865-kilometers long pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi. KPC is the largest consumer of electricity in Kenya. In November 2023, Kenya pipeline was listed among 11 other state corporations that were to be privatised by
678-933: A plantation society, which became dependent on slave labour based around the ivory trade. Throughout the early modern period, Mombasa was a key node in the complex and far reaching Indian Ocean trading networks. Its key exports then were ivory, millet , sesamum and coconuts . Today, Mombasa is a tourism-based town, home to one of the state houses , with an extra-large port and an international airport . Sultan of Mombasa Before 1300 [REDACTED] Kilwa Sultanate 1300–1513 [REDACTED] Portuguese Empire 1593–1698 [REDACTED] Imamate of Oman 1698–1728 [REDACTED] Portuguese Empire 1728–1729 [REDACTED] Imamate of Oman 1729–1824 [REDACTED] British Empire 1824–1826 [REDACTED] Sultanate of Muscat and Oman 1826–1887 [REDACTED] British East Africa / Kenya 1887–1963 [REDACTED] Kenya 1963–present The founding of Mombasa
791-520: A prosperous trading town in the 12th century, as the Arab geographer al-Idrisi mentions it in 1151. The oldest stone mosque in Mombasa, Mnara, was built c. 1300. The Mandhry Mosque, built in 1570, has a minaret that contains a regionally specific ogee arch. This suggests that Swahili architecture was an indigenous African product rather than being adopted from non-African Muslims who brought stone architecture to
904-500: A shorter postharvest storage life of around two to three weeks at temperatures of 12 to 15 °C (54 to 59 °F) or up to 2 months at 0 to 1.5 °C (32.0 to 34.7 °F). In comparison, mature coconuts with the husk intact can be stored for three to five months at normal room temperature . Unlike some other plants, the palm tree has neither a taproot nor root hairs , but has a fibrous root system . The root system consists of an abundance of thin roots that grow outward from
1017-409: A single domesticated population. Philippine and Malayan dwarf coconuts diverged early into two distinct types. They usually remain genetically isolated when introduced to new regions, making it possible to trace their origins. Numerous other dwarf cultivars also developed as the initial dwarf cultivar was introduced to other regions and hybridized with various tall cultivars. The origin of dwarf varieties
1130-642: A species that had started to be dispersed by humans and grown in plantations. Niu vai endocarp fragments have been recovered in archaeological sites in the St. Matthias Islands of the Bismarck Archipelago . The fragments are dated to approximately 1000 BCE, suggesting that cultivation and artificial selection of coconuts were already practiced by the Austronesian Lapita people . Coconuts can also be broadly divided into two general types based on habit:
1243-691: A thinner husk and a larger amount of endosperm. Domesticated coconuts also contain more coconut water . These two forms are referred to by the Samoan terms niu kafa for the elongated wild coconuts, and niu vai for the rounded domesticated Pacific coconuts. A full-sized coconut fruit weighs about 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds 1 ounce). Coconuts sold domestically in coconut-producing countries are typically not de-husked. Especially immature coconuts (6 to 8 months from flowering) are sold for coconut water and softer jelly-like coconut meat (known as "green coconuts", "young coconuts", or "water coconuts"), where
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#17328766685251356-672: A variety of products for furnishing and decoration. The coconut has cultural and religious significance in certain societies, particularly in the Austronesian cultures of the Western Pacific where it is featured in their mythologies, songs, and oral traditions. The fall of its mature fruit has led to a preoccupation with death by coconut . It also had ceremonial importance in pre-colonial animistic religions. It has also acquired religious significance in South Asian cultures, where it
1469-425: Is Southeast Asia , which contain the tall cultivars that are genetically closest to dwarf coconuts. Sequencing of the genome of the tall and dwarf varieties revealed that they diverged 2 to 8 million years ago and that the dwarf variety arose through alterations in genes involved in the metabolism of the plant hormone gibberellin . Another ancestral variety is the niu leka of Polynesia (sometimes called
1582-481: Is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean . It was the first capital of British East Africa , before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County . The town is known as "the white and blue city" in Kenya. It is the country's oldest ( c. 900 A.D.) and second-largest city after Nairobi, with a population of about 1,208,333 people according to
1695-401: Is a place of great traffic and has a good harbour in which there are always moored small craft of many kinds and also great ships, both of which are bound from Sofala and others which come from Cambay and Melinde and others which sail to the island of Zanzibar ." Vasco da Gama was the first known European to visit Mombasa, receiving a chilly reception in 1498. Two years later, the town
1808-499: Is also cited as evidence that the plant originated in the region. For example, the Polynesian and Melanesian term niu ; Tagalog and Chamorro term niyog ; and the Malay word nyiur or nyior . Other evidence for a Central Indo-Pacific origin is the native range of the coconut crab ; and the higher amounts of C. nucifera -specific insect pests in the region (90%) in comparison to
1921-663: Is also home to one of the largest open-air markets in the African Great Lakes. Bamburi is an outlying township (fifteen minutes drive) along the Malindi road. It is home to Bamburi Cement factory, the largest cement plant in the East African region. Other notable features in the area are the Jomo Kenyatta public beach, commonly known as Pirates, and Haller Park , a nature trail and wildlife conservatory. Kiembeni Estate, also in
2034-514: Is also home to the Akamba Handicraft Cooperative. Coconut The coconut tree ( Cocos nucifera ) is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae ) and the only living species of the genus Cocos . The term " coconut " (or the archaic " cocoanut ") can refer to the whole coconut palm , the seed , or the fruit , which botanically is a drupe , not a nut . They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are
2147-555: Is also often stated that coconuts can travel 110 days, or 5,000 km (3,000 mi), by sea and still be able to germinate. This figure has been questioned based on the extremely small sample size that forms the basis of the paper that makes this claim. Thor Heyerdahl provides an alternative, and much shorter, estimate based on his first-hand experience crossing the Pacific Ocean on the raft Kon-Tiki : The nuts we had in baskets on deck remained edible and capable of germinating
2260-549: Is associated with two rulers: Mwana Mkisi and Shehe Mvita. According to legend, Mwana Mkisi is the original ancestor of Mombasa's oldest lineages within Thenashara Taifa (or Twelve Nations). Families associated with the Twelve Nations are still considered the original inhabitants of the city. Mwana Mkisi was a queen from the pre-Islamic era, who founded Kongowea, the original urban settlement on Mombasa Island. Significantly,
2373-421: Is consistently warm and humid. Coconut palms require warm conditions for successful growth, and are intolerant of cold weather. Some seasonal variation is tolerated, with good growth where mean summer temperatures are between 28 and 37 °C (82 and 99 °F), and survival as long as winter temperatures are above 4–12 °C (39–54 °F); they will survive brief drops to 0 °C (32 °F). Severe frost
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#17328766685252486-593: Is derived from the Arabic words "Qadru r-Rahman" meaning "Decree of (God) the Merciful". Ganjoni : Primarily a middle class residential area, home of second biggest dry dock of Africa after the one in South Africa. Tudor : Another middle class residential area with homes and shops. The Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) is situated in this neighbourhood. Nyali , also considered a prime and up-market residential area, it
2599-609: Is further strengthened by other similar botanical evidence of contact, like the pre-colonial presence of sweet potato in Oceanian cultures. During the colonial era , Pacific coconuts were further introduced to Mexico from the Spanish East Indies via the Manila galleons . In contrast to the Pacific coconuts, Indo-Atlantic coconuts were largely spread by Arab and Persian traders into
2712-612: Is highly tolerant of salinity . It prefers areas with abundant sunlight and regular rainfall (1,500–2,500 mm [59–98 in] annually), which makes colonizing shorelines of the tropics relatively straightforward. Coconuts also need high humidity (at least 70–80%) for optimum growth, which is why they are rarely seen in areas with low humidity. However, they can be found in humid areas with low annual precipitation such as in Karachi , Pakistan , which receives only about 250 mm ( 9 + 3 ⁄ 4 in) of rainfall per year, but
2825-454: Is in Baghani. Englani: Part of Old town between Kibokoni and Makadara. Kuze: Part of Old Town with Swahili culture and architecture. Originally flourishing with Swahili people but becoming a more cosmopolitan neighbourhood. Makadara : Part of Old Town consisting of a high number of descendants of Baluchi former soldiers who settled within this area before it developed into a town. The name
2938-581: Is more typical. Plants are intolerant to cold and prefer copious precipitation and full sunlight. Many insect pests and diseases affect the species and are a nuisance for commercial production. In 2022, about 73% of the world's supply of coconuts was produced by Indonesia , India , and the Philippines . Cocos nucifera is a large palm, growing up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 m (13–20 ft) long, and pinnae 60–90 centimetres (2–3 ft) long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving
3051-461: Is not thought to be indigenous to South America, and the highest genetic diversity is present in Asian Cocos , indicating that at least the modern species Cocos nucifera is native to there . In addition, fossils of potential Cocos ancestors have been recovered from both Colombia and India. In order to resolve this enigma, a 2014 study proposed that the ancestors of Cocos had likely originated on
3164-486: Is on the mainland north of the island and is linked by the New Nyali Bridge . It has numerous beach front hotels in the area known as the "North Coast". Nyali has two distinct sections – the upmarket Old Nyali and the upcoming New Nyali. For many residents, Nyali has now become a self-contained residential area, with two Nakumatts , a multiplex cinema, shopping malls, banks, schools and post offices. This often eliminates
3277-654: Is separated from the mainland by two creeks : Tudor Creek and Kilindini Harbour . It is connected to the mainland to the north by the Nyali Bridge , to the south by the Likoni Ferry , and to the west by the Makupa Causeway , alongside which runs the Kenya-Uganda Railway . The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior, linking them to the ocean. The city is served by Moi International Airport located in
3390-674: Is the Pacific coconut from the Philippines. This, together with their use of the South American sweet potato , suggests that Austronesian peoples may have sailed as far east as the Americas. In the Hawaiian Islands , the coconut is regarded as a Polynesian introduction , first brought to the islands by early Polynesian voyagers (also Austronesians) from their homelands in the southern islands of Polynesia. Specimens have been collected from
3503-751: Is used in rituals of Hinduism . It forms the basis of wedding and worship rituals in Hinduism. It also plays a central role in the Coconut Religion founded in 1963 in Vietnam . Coconuts were first domesticated by the Austronesian peoples in Island Southeast Asia and were spread during the Neolithic via their seaborne migrations as far east as the Pacific Islands , and as far west as Madagascar and
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3616-459: Is usually fatal, although they have been known to recover from temperatures of −4 °C (25 °F). Due to this, there are not many coconut palms in California . They may grow but not fruit properly in areas with insufficient warmth or sunlight, such as Bermuda . The conditions required for coconut trees to grow without any care are: The main limiting factor for most locations which satisfy
3729-598: The Americas during the colonial era in the Columbian exchange , but there is evidence of a possible pre-Columbian introduction of Pacific coconuts to Panama by Austronesian sailors. The evolutionary origin of the coconut is under dispute, with theories stating that it may have evolved in Asia , South America, or Pacific islands. Trees can grow up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall and can yield up to 75 fruits per year, though fewer than 30
3842-667: The Caribbean coast of what is now Colombia, and during the Eocene the ancestral Cocos performed a long-distance dispersal across the Atlantic Ocean to North Africa . From here, island-hopping via coral atolls lining the Tethys Sea , potentially boosted by ocean currents at the time, would have proved crucial to dispersal, eventually allowing ancestral coconuts to reach India. The study contended that an adaptation to coral atolls would explain
3955-648: The Comoros . They played a critical role in the long sea voyages of Austronesians by providing a portable source of food and water, as well as providing building materials for Austronesian outrigger boats . Coconuts were also later spread in historic times along the coasts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans by South Asian , Arab , and European sailors. Based on these separate introductions, coconut populations can still be divided into Pacific coconuts and Indo-Atlantic coconuts, respectively. Coconuts were introduced by Europeans to
4068-512: The East African coast. Indo-Atlantic coconuts were also introduced into the Atlantic Ocean by Portuguese ships from their colonies in coastal India and Sri Lanka ; first introduced to coastal West Africa , then onwards into the Caribbean and the east coast of Brazil . All of these introductions are within the last few centuries, relatively recent in comparison to the spread of Pacific coconuts. The coconut palm thrives on sandy soils and
4181-524: The Holocene . But research on them is still ongoing to determine their phylogenetic affinities. Endt & Hayward (1997) have noted their resemblance to members of the South American genus Parajubaea , rather than Cocos , and propose a South American origin. Conran et al. (2015), however, suggests that their diversity in New Zealand indicate that they evolved endemically, rather than being introduced to
4294-452: The Indian Ocean basin, resulting in limited admixture with Pacific coconuts introduced earlier to Madagascar and the Comoros via the ancient Austronesian maritime trade network . Coconuts can be broadly divided into two fruit types – the ancestral niu kafa form with a thick-husked, angular fruit, and the niu vai form with a thin-husked, spherical fruit with a higher proportion of endosperm . The terms are derived from
4407-546: The Maastrichtian – Danian of the early Tertiary (70 to 62 million years ago). C. binoriensis has been claimed by their authors to be the earliest known fossil of Cocos nucifera . Outside of New Zealand and India, only two other regions have reported Cocos -like fossils, namely Australia and Colombia . In Australia, a Cocos -like fossil fruit, measuring 10 cm × 9.5 cm ( 3 + 7 ⁄ 8 in × 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 in), were recovered from
4520-455: The Maypan , King , and Macapuno . These vary by the taste of the coconut water and color of the fruit, as well as other genetic factors. Botanically , the coconut fruit is a drupe , not a true nut . Like other fruits, it has three layers : the exocarp , mesocarp , and endocarp . The exocarp is the glossy outer skin, usually yellow-green to yellow-brown in color. The mesocarp is composed of
4633-780: The National Oil Corporation of Kenya , KPC operates 5 storage and distribution depots for conventional petroleum products, located in Eldoret, Kisumu , Mombasa, Nairobi and Nakuru. Depots are fed by domestic-manufactured product from the Kenya Petroleum Refinery near Nairobi and imported, refined petroleum product from the Kipevu Oil Storage Facility near Mombasa. The company operates two aviation fuel depots at Jomo Kenyatta Airport , Nairobi , and Moi International Airport , Mombasa . In collaboration with
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4746-410: The Samoan language and was adopted into scientific usage by Harries (1978). The niu kafa form is the wild ancestral type, with thick husks to protect the seed, an angular, highly ridged shape to promote buoyancy during ocean dispersal, and a pointed base that allowed fruits to dig into the sand, preventing them from being washed away during germination on a new island. It is the dominant form in
4859-492: The Swahili people . Shehe Mvitaff superseded the dynasty of Mwana Mkisi and established the first permanent stone mosque on Mombasa Island. Mombasa's oldest extant stone mosque, Mnara, was built c. 1300. Shehe Mvita is remembered as a Muslim of great learning and so is connected more directly with the present ideals of Swahili culture that people identify with Mombasa. The ancient history associated with Mwana Mkisi and Shehe Mvita and
4972-550: The capture of Fort Jesus in 1698, the town came under the influence of the Imamate of Oman , subordinate to the Omani rulers on the island of Unguja , prompting regular local rebellions. Oman appointed three consecutive Governors (Wali in Arabic, Liwali in Swahili ): Mombasa was briefly returned to Portuguese rule by captain-major Álvaro Caetano de Melo Castro (12 March 1728 – 21 September 1729), then four new Omani Liwali until 1746, when
5085-572: The trunk smooth. On fertile soil, a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30. Given proper care and growing conditions, coconut palms produce their first fruit in six to ten years, taking 15 to 20 years to reach peak production. True-to-type dwarf varieties of Pacific coconuts have been cultivated by the Austronesian peoples since ancient times. These varieties were selected for slower growth, sweeter coconut water, and often brightly colored fruits. Many modern varieties are also grown, including
5198-465: The "Compact Dwarfs"). Although it shares similar characteristics to dwarf coconuts (including slow growth), it is genetically distinct and is thus believed to be independently domesticated, likely in Tonga . Other cultivars of niu leka may also exist in other islands of the Pacific, and some are probably descendants of advanced crosses between Compact Dwarfs and Southeast Asian Dwarf types. Coconut fruit in
5311-751: The "Tall" (var. typica ) and "Dwarf" (var. nana ) varieties. The two groups are genetically distinct, with the dwarf variety showing a greater degree of artificial selection for ornamental traits and for early germination and fruiting. The tall variety is outcrossing while dwarf palms are self-pollinating , which has led to a much greater degree of genetic diversity within the tall group. The dwarf coconut cultivars are fully domesticated, in contrast to tall cultivars which display greater diversity in terms of domestication (and lack thereof). The fact that all dwarf coconuts share three genetic markers out of thirteen (which are only present at low frequencies in tall cultivars) makes it likely that they all originate from
5424-527: The 17th century use the name as well. He consulted the catalogue Herbarium Amboinense by Georg Eberhard Rumphius where Rumphius said that coccus was a homonym of coccum and coccus from Greek κόκκος kokkos meaning "grain" or "berry", but Romans identified coccus with " kermes insects "; Rumphius preferred the word cocus as a replacement. However, the word cocus could also mean "cook" like coquus in Latin, so Linnaeus chose Cocos directly from
5537-547: The 2019 census. Mombasa's location on the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading centre, and it has been controlled by many countries because of its strategic location. Kenyan school history books place the founding of Mombasa as 900 A.D. It must have been already a prosperous trading town in the 12th century, as the Arab geographer al-Idrisi mentions it in 1151. It was a part of the Kilwa Sultanate from approximately
5650-509: The Americas (20%), and Africa (4%). A study in 2011 identified two highly genetically differentiated subpopulations of coconuts, one originating from Island Southeast Asia (the Pacific group) and the other from the southern margins of the Indian subcontinent (the Indo-Atlantic group). The Pacific group is the only one to display clear genetic and phenotypic indications that they were domesticated; including dwarf habit, self-pollination, and
5763-421: The Americas. They are now almost ubiquitous between 26° N and 26° S except for the interiors of Africa and South America. The 2014 coral atoll origin hypothesis proposed that the coconut had dispersed in an island hopping fashion using the small, sometimes transient, coral atolls. It noted that by using these small atolls, the species could easily island-hop. Over the course of evolutionary time-scales
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#17328766685255876-459: The Bamburi area, hosts around 100,000 residents. The estate has its own supermarket, several retail shops, salons and boutiques, and a number of licensed drinking dens. The establishments include The Shilla Bar, Turkey Base, Stars Garden and Sensera pub. Kiembeni is arguably the largest estate in Mombasa, and growing even faster. Other areas include, Shanzu , Mkomani, Bombolulu , Kisauni and, across
5989-722: The British East Africa Association, later the Imperial British East Africa Company . It came under British administration in 1895. It soon became the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate and the sea terminal of the Uganda Railway , construction of which was started in 1896. Many workers were brought in from British India to build the railway, and the city's fortunes revived. The Sultan of Zanzibar formally presented
6102-506: The Chinchilla Sand Formation dated to the latest Pliocene or basal Pleistocene . Rigby (1995) assigned them to modern Cocos nucifera based on its size. In Colombia, a single Cocos -like fruit was recovered from the middle to late Paleocene Cerrejón Formation . The fruit, however, was compacted in the fossilization process and it was not possible to determine if it had the diagnostic three pores that characterize members of
6215-850: The Government Training Institute (GTI) Mombasa are all in Kizingo as well. Central Business District: The Mombasa central business district across the TSS building roundabout, Moi Avenue, and Nyerere Avenue is densely populated. Organizations such as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and businesses such as Banks (ABSA, I&M Ltd, Bank of India Ltd), Insurance Firms (Nomura Insurance Brokers, Masumali Meghji Insurance), and Audit Firms (Anant Bhatt LLP, Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, Mazars LLP, Deloitte LLP, and PKF LLP) are located here. Kibokoni : Part of Old Town with Swahili architecture. Fort Jesus
6328-487: The Government, KPC facilitates the implementation of Government policies: Unlike some state corporations, KPC does not depend on government subsidies, but is a source of revenue to the government in terms of dividends and taxes. It is supported by major petroleum companies which are signatories to the network, including Dalbit Petroleum. In 2011, the government of newly independent South Sudan expressed interest to building
6441-672: The Indo-Atlantic coconuts. However, they may have also been partially selected for thicker husks for coir production, which was also important in Austronesian material culture as a source for cordage in building houses and boats. The niu vai form is the domesticated form dominant in Pacific coconuts. They were selected for by the Austronesian peoples for their larger endosperm-to-husk ratio as well as higher coconut water content, making them more useful as food and water reserves for sea voyages. The decreased buoyancy and increased fragility of this spherical, thin-husked fruit would not matter for
6554-588: The Kenyan government. On 7 December 2018, Joe Sang, the CEO of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), was arrested with four other senior officials in connection with the loss of an unspecified amount of money during the construction of an oil jetty in the western city of Kisumu. Mombasa Mombasa ( / m ɒ m ˈ b æ s ə / mom- BASS -ə ; also US : /- ˈ b ɑː s ə / - BAH -sə )
6667-664: The Likoni Riots of 1997. The Liwatoni Pedestrian Floating Bridge was built and designed to ease pressure on the Likoni ferry crossing by taking up most of the foot traffic, leaving the ferries to serve vehicular and cargo crossing between Mombasa Island and the South Coast. Diani Beach : a beach resort area situated over the Likoni Ferry on the south coast of Mombasa. It is located some 36 km (22 miles) south of Mombasa city on
6780-499: The Mtwapa creek, the popular area of Mtwapa , which is already located in Kilifi county. The North Coast has an entertainment industry which attracts locals and tourists. Likoni : is a lower income and lower-middle-class neighbourhood connected to Mombasa Island by ferry. It is south of Mombasa Island and is made up of mostly Swahili and non-Swahili Bantu tribes. The ferry was the target of
6893-445: The Pacific Ocean and that they could not have dispersed worldwide without human agency. More recently, genomic analysis of cultivated coconut ( C. nucifera L.) has shed light on the movement. However, admixture , the transfer of genetic material, evidently occurred between the two populations. Given that coconuts are ideally suited for inter-island group ocean dispersal, obviously some natural distribution did take place. However,
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#17328766685257006-537: The Pacific unaided. If they were naturally distributed and had been in the Pacific for a thousand years or so, then we would expect the eastern shore of Australia, with its own islands sheltered by the Great Barrier Reef , to have been thick with coconut palms: the currents were directly into, and down along this coast. However, both James Cook and William Bligh (put adrift after the Bounty mutiny ) found no sign of
7119-585: The Portuguese word coco instead. The specific name nucifera is derived from the Latin words nux (nut) and fera (bearing), for 'nut-bearing'. Coconuts have a nearly cosmopolitan distribution due to human cultivation and dispersal. However, their original distribution was in the Central Indo-Pacific , in the regions of Maritime Southeast Asia and Melanesia . Modern genetic studies have identified
7232-406: The Swahili Coast. During the pre-modern period, Mombasa was an important centre for the trade in spices, gold, and ivory . Its trade links reached as far as India and China. Oral historians today can still recount this period of local history. Indian history shows that there were trade links between Mombasa and Cholas of South India . Throughout the early modern period, Mombasa was a key node in
7345-490: The Taiwanese Austronesian languages makes it likely that the Austronesian coconut culture developed only after Austronesians started colonizing the Philippine islands . The importance of the coconut in Austronesian cultures is evidenced by shared terminology of even very specific parts and uses of coconuts, which were carried outwards from the Philippines during the Austronesian migrations. Indo-Atlantic type coconuts were also later spread by Arab and South Asian traders along
7458-466: The Zimba slaughtered the Muslim inhabitants, but they were halted at Malindi by the Bantu-speaking Segeju and went home. This stimulated the Portuguese to take over Mombasa a third time in 1589, and four years later they built Fort Jesus to administer the region. Between Lake Malawi and the Zambezi mouth, Kalonga Mzura made an alliance with the Portuguese in 1608 and fielded 4,000 warriors to help defeat their rival Zimba, who were led by chief Lundi. After
7571-399: The ancestral traits of tall habits and elongated triangular fruits. The coconut played a critical role in the migrations of the Austronesian peoples. They provided a portable source of both food and water, allowing Austronesians to survive long sea voyages to colonize new islands as well as establish long-range trade routes. Based on linguistic evidence, the absence of words for coconut in
7684-434: The area during his travels to the Swahili Coast . He noted the city, although he stayed only one night. He wrote that the people of Mombasa were Shafi'i Muslims, religious people, trustworthy and righteous. Their mosques were made of wood, expertly built. The exact founding date of the city is unknown, but it has a long history. Kenyan school history books place the founding of Mombasa as 900 A.D. It must have been already
7797-409: The building of Fort Jesus , Mombasa was put by the Portuguese under the rule of members of the ruling family of Malindi. In 1631 Dom Jeronimo , the ruler of Mombasa, slaughtered the Portuguese garrison in the city and defeated the relief force sent by the Portuguese. In 1632 Dom Jeronimo left Mombasa and became a pirate. That year the Portuguese returned and established direct rule over Mombasa. With
7910-414: The center of origin of coconuts as being the Central Indo-Pacific , the region between western Southeast Asia and Melanesia , where it shows greatest genetic diversity. Their cultivation and spread was closely tied to the early migrations of the Austronesian peoples who carried coconuts as canoe plants to the islands they settled. The similarities of the local names in the Austronesian region
8023-586: The city in search of employment, mainly in service and manufacturing sector. The area is adjacent to the rich suburb of Nyali which employs a portion of the village residents. They are mainly hired as cheap labour as watchmen, gardeners, masons for up coming houses and house help. The most well known villages inside Kongowea include Kisumu Ndogo, Shauri Yako and Mnazi Mmoja, despite being located in this prime area, many residents live under extreme conditions – poor sanitation, high crime rate and lack of basic essential amenities like schools, hospitals and tap water. Kongowea
8136-486: The city wanted to be "the most photographed in Africa". Being a coastal town , Mombasa is characterised by a flat topography. The town of Mombasa is centred on Mombasa Island, but extends to the mainland. The island is separated from the mainland by two creeks , Port Reitz in the south and Tudor Creek in the north. Mombasa has a tropical wet and dry climate ( Köppen : As ). The amount of rainfall essentially depends on
8249-774: The city's best-known monuments, were originally constructed in 1952 by the British administration of the Kenya Colony , commemorating the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the city. In 2018, as part of an effort to increase tourism, Mombasa County Governor Hassan Joho issued a directive requiring that all buildings in the Old Town and the Central Business District be painted white with Egyptian blue trim and banned all signs from their walls or canopies. Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works County Executive Tawfiq Balala stated that
8362-505: The coconut shell that resemble facial features. Coco and coconut apparently came from 1521 encounters by Portuguese and Spanish explorers with Pacific Islanders , with the coconut shell reminding them of a ghost or witch in Portuguese folklore called coco (also côca ). In the West it was originally called nux indica , a name used by Marco Polo in 1280 while in Sumatra . He took
8475-490: The coconuts in the Americas are genetically closest related to the coconuts in the Philippines , and not to any other nearby coconut populations (including Polynesia ). Such an origin indicates that the coconuts were not introduced naturally, such as by sea currents. The researchers concluded that it was brought by early Austronesian sailors to the Americas from at least 2,250 BP, and may be proof of pre-Columbian contact between Austronesian cultures and South American cultures. It
8588-628: The complex and far-reaching Indian Ocean trading networks. Its key exports were ivory, millet , sesamum and coconuts . Ivory caravans remained a major source of economic prosperity. Mombasa became the major port city of pre-colonial Kenya in the Middle Ages and was used to trade with other African port cities, the Persian Empire , the Arabian Peninsula, India and China. Sixteenth-century Portuguese voyager Duarte Barbosa wrote, "[Mombasa]
8701-631: The destruction of the city under Nuno da Cunha again in 1528 after the Malindi sultan failed to pay tribute . In 1585, a military expedition of the Ottoman Empire , led by Emir 'Ali Bey, successfully captured Mombasa, and other coastal cities in Southeast Africa from the Portuguese. However, Malindi remained loyal to Portugal. The Zimba overcame the towns of Sena and Tete on the Zambezi, and in 1587 they took Kilwa , killing 3,000 people. At Mombasa,
8814-454: The early 14th century until the dissolution of the sultanate in 1513 A.D. The oldest stone mosque in Mombasa, Mnara, was built c. 1300. The Mandhry Mosque, built in 1570, has a minaret that contains a regionally specific ogee arch. The city later came under the occupation and control of the Omani Empire in the late 17th century. In the late pre-colonial period, it was the metropolis of
8927-563: The early domestication of Pacific coconuts by the Austronesian peoples in maritime Southeast Asia during the Austronesian expansion (c. 3000 to 1500 BCE). Although archaeological remains dating to 1000 to 500 BCE also suggest that the Indo-Atlantic coconuts were also later independently cultivated by the Dravidian peoples , only Pacific coconuts show clear signs of domestication traits like dwarf habits, self-pollination, and rounded fruits. Indo-Atlantic coconuts, in contrast, all have
9040-404: The edible solid endosperm (the "coconut meat" or "coconut flesh") which hardens over time. The small cylindrical embryo is embedded in the solid endosperm directly below the functional pore of the endosperm. During germination, the embryo pushes out of the functional pore and forms a haustorium (the coconut sprout ) inside the central cavity. The haustorium absorbs the solid endosperm to nourish
9153-412: The endocarp is hollow and is lined with a thin brown seed coat around 0.2 mm ( 1 ⁄ 64 in) thick. The endocarp is initially filled with a multinucleate liquid endosperm (the coconut water ). As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the endocarp up to 11 mm ( 3 ⁄ 8 in) thick, starting at the distal end. They eventually form
9266-460: The flesh, charcoal from the hard shell, and coir from the fibrous husk . Dried coconut flesh is called copra , and the oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking – frying in particular – as well as in soaps and cosmetics . Sweet coconut sap can be made into drinks or fermented into palm wine or coconut vinegar . The hard shells, fibrous husks and long pinnate leaves can be used as material to make
9379-470: The founding of an urban settlement on Mombasa Island is still linked to present-day peoples living in Mombasa. The Thenashara Taifa (or Twelve Nations) Swahili lineages recount this ancient history today and are the keepers of local Swahili traditions. Most of the early information on Mombasa comes from the writings of Portuguese chroniclers in the 16th century. The famous Moroccan scholar and traveller Ibn Battuta (1304 – 1368/1369) visited
9492-654: The islands by long-distance dispersal. In west-central India, numerous fossils of Cocos -like fruits, leaves, and stems have been recovered from the Deccan Traps . They include morphotaxa like Palmoxylon sundaran , Palmoxylon insignae , and Palmocarpon cocoides . Cocos -like fossils of fruits include Cocos intertrappeansis , Cocos pantii , and Cocos sahnii . They also include fossil fruits that have been tentatively identified as modern Cocos nucifera . These include two specimens named Cocos palaeonucifera and Cocos binoriensis , both dated by their authors to
9605-467: The last of them made it independent again (disputed by Oman), as the first of its recorded Sultans: From 9 February 1824 to 25 July 1826, there was a British protectorate over Mombasa, represented by governors. Omani rule was restored in 1826; seven liwalis where appointed. On 24 June 1837, it was nominally annexed by Said bin Sultan of Muscat and Oman . On 25 May 1887 Mombasa was relinquished to
9718-502: The locations of the admixture events are limited to Madagascar and coastal east Africa, and exclude the Seychelles . This pattern coincides with the known trade routes of Austronesian sailors. Additionally, a genetically distinct subpopulation of coconut on the Pacific coast of Latin America has undergone a genetic bottleneck resulting from a founder effect ; however, its ancestral population
9831-511: The mainland coast and is a prime resort for many local and international tourists. Diani Beach has an airport at Ukunda town to cater for tourists who fly there directly from Nairobi Wilson or any other airports and airfields in the country. Magongo : is an outlying township 20 minutes driving distance northwest of Mombasa Island, situated on the Nairobi Highway. This fringe community lacks any effective electricity, water or sewer systems, with
9944-523: The names of both the queen and the city have linguistic and spiritual connections with Central Africa. "Mkisi" is considered the personification of "ukisi" , which means "the holy" in kiKongo . "Kongowea" can similarly be interpreted as the Swahili locative of "kongo" , which denotes the essence of civilizational order in central Africa. These legends can be read as an acknowledgement of the Bantu -speaking origins of
10057-645: The need for residents to cross the bridge and to go into the congested Mombasa city centre. Nyali is home for the Nyali Cinemax complex, Mamba Village, the Nyali Golf Club, and some of the most prestigious academic institutions of the Coast Province. Kongowea is a densely populated area with 15 villages, two sub-locations and an estimated population of 106,180 residents. Kongowea is a cosmopolitan settlement mainly inhabited by people from mainland who migrated into
10170-522: The northwest mainland suburb of Chaani. Mombasa CBD Kizingo: Considered the prime residential area of Mombasa. The State House of Mombasa, Provincial Headquarters, The Mombasa Law Courts, and the Municipal Council are located in Kizingo. The Aga Khan Academy, Aga Khan High School, Serani Primary School, Serani High School, Santokben Nursery School, Coast Academy, Jaffery Academy, Mombasa Primary School, Loreto Convent, Mama Ngina Girls' High School and
10283-552: The nuts along this 2,000 km (1,200 mi) stretch when he needed water for his crew. Nor were there coconuts on the east side of the African coast until Vasco da Gama , nor in the Caribbean when first visited by Christopher Columbus . They were commonly carried by Spanish ships as a source of fresh water. These provide substantial circumstantial evidence that deliberate Austronesian voyagers were involved in carrying coconuts across
10396-528: The original coloration of the fruit is more aesthetically pleasing. Whole mature coconuts (11 to 13 months from flowering) sold for export, however, typically have the husk removed to reduce weight and volume for transport. This results in the naked coconut "shell" with three pores more familiar in countries where coconuts are not grown locally. De-husked coconuts typically weigh around 750 to 850 grams (1 lb 10 oz to 1 lb 14 oz). De-husked coconuts are also easier for consumers to open, but have
10509-525: The palm (vivipary) was important. Coconuts today can be grouped into two highly genetically distinct subpopulations: the Indo-Atlantic group originating from southern India and nearby regions (including Sri Lanka , the Laccadives , and the Maldives ); and the Pacific group originating from the region between maritime Southeast Asia and Melanesia . Linguistic, archaeological, and genetic evidence all point to
10622-455: The plant near the surface. Only a few of the roots penetrate deep into the soil for stability. This type of root system is known as fibrous or adventitious, and is a characteristic of grass species. Other types of large trees produce a single downward-growing tap root with a number of feeder roots growing from it. 2,000–4,000 adventitious roots may grow, each about 1 cm ( 1 ⁄ 2 in) large. Decayed roots are replaced regularly as
10735-420: The prehistoric and modern distributions of Cocos , would have provided the necessary evolutionary pressures, and would account for morphological factors such as a thick husk to protect against ocean degradation and provide a moist medium in which to germinate on sparse atolls. The name coconut is derived from the 16th-century Portuguese word coco , meaning 'head' or 'skull' after the three indentations on
10848-434: The rainfall and temperature requirements is canopy growth, except those locations near coastlines, where the sandy soil and salt spray limit the growth of most other trees. Wild coconuts are naturally restricted to coastal areas in sandy, saline soils. The fruit is adapted for ocean dispersal. Coconuts could not reach inland locations without human intervention (to carry seednuts, plant seedlings, etc.) and early germination on
10961-399: The rest of Kenya , climate change is already creating challenges for the city: coastal erosion has become a problem for infrastructure in Mombasa. Due to rising sea levels , the coastline has been eroding at 2.5–20 cm (0.98–7.87 in) per year. This has increased the number of annual floods. Mombasa is located on Mombasa Island and sprawls to the surrounding mainlands. The island
11074-487: The round " niu vai " fruit morphology with larger endosperm-to-husk ratios. The distribution of the Pacific coconuts correspond to regions settled by Austronesian voyagers indicating that its spread was largely the result of human introductions. It is most strikingly displayed in Madagascar , an island settled by Austronesian sailors at around 2000 to 1500 BP . The coconut populations on the island show genetic admixture between
11187-452: The sea as far north as Norway (but it is not known where they entered the water). They have been found in the Caribbean and the Atlantic coasts of Africa and South America for less than 500 years (the Caribbean native inhabitants do not have a dialect term for them, but use the Portuguese name), but evidence of their presence on the Pacific coast of South America antedates Columbus's arrival in
11300-440: The season. The rainiest months are April and May, while rainfall is minimal between January and February. Located near the equator, Mombasa has only a slight seasonal temperature variation, with high temperatures ranging 28.8–33.7 °C (83.8–92.7 °F). As a seaport, Mombasa is subject to detrimental consequences of a fluctuating climate. In October 2006, Mombasa experienced a large flood that affected 60,000 people. Like
11413-431: The seedling. Coconut fruits have two distinctive forms depending on § domestication . Wild coconuts feature an elongated triangular fruit with a thicker husk and a smaller amount of endosperm. These allow the fruits to be more buoyant and make it easier for them to lodge into sandy shorelines, making their shape ideal for ocean dispersal. Domesticated Pacific coconuts, on the other hand, are rounded in shape with
11526-405: The shifting atolls would have shortened the paths of colonization, meaning that any one coconut would not have to travel very far to find new land. Coconuts are susceptible to the phytoplasma disease, lethal yellowing . One recently selected cultivar , the 'Maypan' , has been bred for resistance to this disease. Yellowing diseases affect plantations in Africa, India, Mexico, the Caribbean and
11639-566: The term from the Arabs, who called it جوز هندي jawz hindī , translating to 'Indian nut'. Thenga , its Tamil / Malayalam name, was used in the detailed description of coconut found in Itinerario by Ludovico di Varthema published in 1510 and also in the later Hortus Indicus Malabaricus . Carl Linnaeus first wanted to name the coconut genus Coccus from latinizing the Portuguese word coco , because he saw works by other botanists in middle of
11752-615: The town to the British in 1898. Mombasa became the capital of the Kenya Colony Protectorate of Kenya , sometime between 1887 and around 1906. The capital was later moved because medical officers warned that the ground was swampy, and urged Sir James Hayes Sadler , then Commissioner of the East Africa Protectorate, to plead with London to move the town elsewhere to mitigate potential disease. Nairobi has since been Kenya's capital to date. The Mombasa tusks , one of
11865-494: The township, within Mombasa Island itself as there is a lack of employment and industry. There are a number of small health clinics, shops, and a few public primary schools: Nazarene primary is one school, which is known in particular as being staffed by a revolving volunteer teacher base from Western, and predominately English speaking nations. This small town serves as a link between the city and Moi International Airport. Magongo
11978-551: The tree grows new ones. The palm produces both the female and male flowers on the same inflorescence ; thus, the palm is monoecious . However, there is some evidence that it may be polygamomonoecious and may occasionally have bisexual flowers. The female flower is much larger than the male flower. Flowering occurs continuously. Coconut palms are believed to be largely cross- pollinated , although most dwarf varieties are self-pollinating. The evolutionary history and fossil distribution of Cocos nucifera and other members of
12091-703: The tribe Cocoseae is more ambiguous than modern-day dispersal and distribution, with its ultimate origin and pre-human dispersal still unclear. There are currently two major viewpoints on the origins of the genus Cocos , one in the Indo-Pacific, and another in South America. The vast majority of Cocos -like fossils have been recovered generally from only two regions in the world: New Zealand and west-central India . However, like most palm fossils, Cocos -like fossils are still putative, as they are usually difficult to identify. The earliest Cocos -like fossil to be found
12204-484: The tribe Cocoseae . Nevertheless, Gomez-Navarro et al. (2009), assigned it to Cocos based on the size and the ridged shape of the fruit. Further complicating measures to determine the evolutionary history of Cocos is the genetic diversity present within C. nucifera as well as its relatedness to other palms. Phylogenetic evidence supports the closest relatives of Cocos being either Syagrus or Attalea , both of which are found in South America. However, Cocos
12317-472: The two subpopulations indicating that Pacific coconuts were first brought by the Austronesian settlers, which then interbred with the later Indo-Atlantic coconuts brought by Europeans from India. Genetic studies of coconuts have also confirmed pre-Columbian populations of coconuts in Panama . However, it is not native and displays a genetic bottleneck resulting from a founder effect . A study in 2008 showed that
12430-545: The whole way to Polynesia . But we had laid about half among the special provisions below deck, with the waves washing around them. Every single one of these was ruined by the sea water. And no coconut can float over the sea faster than a balsa raft moves with the wind behind it. He also notes that several of the nuts began to germinate by the time they had been ten weeks at sea, precluding an unassisted journey of 100 days or more. Drift models based on wind and ocean currents have shown that coconuts could not have drifted across
12543-422: The wild is light, buoyant, and highly water resistant. It is claimed that they evolved to disperse significant distances via marine currents . However, it can also be argued that the placement of the vulnerable eye of the nut (down when floating), and the site of the coir cushion are better positioned to ensure that the water-filled nut does not fracture when dropping on rocky ground, rather than for flotation. It
12656-455: Was Cocos zeylandica , a fossil species described as small fruits, around 3.5 cm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) × 1.3 to 2.5 cm ( 1 ⁄ 2 to 1 in) in size, recovered from the Miocene (~23 to 5.3 million years ago) of New Zealand in 1926. Since then, numerous other fossils of similar fruits were recovered throughout New Zealand from the Eocene , Oligocene , and possibly
12769-454: Was sacked by the Portuguese. In 1502, the sultanate became independent from Kilwa Kisiwani and was renamed as Mvita (in Swahili ) or Manbasa ( Arabic ). The Portuguese had since had encounters with the city several times; first under Francisco de Almeida in 1505, later under Afonso de Albuquerque in 1522 to quell an attempted mutiny by the sultan's nephew in Pemba and Zanzibar, and finally
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