About Us
Our Mission
In 2016, the Africa School of Outdoor Leadership and Adventure (ASOLA) was founded to build resilient, ethical, and compassionate leaders through values-based outdoor education. ASOLA offers expert-facilitated experiential education courses for young adults and custom hiking and camping skill in the remote wilderness areas of East Africa.
Our Story
ASOLA’s inception was the work of two friends and colleagues working as senior faculty for an international experiential education program who always dreamed of providing the same learning experiences to their community in Kenya. Similarly, driven by their passion for holistic education, they observed a great need to remove barriers to accessing the benefits of the outdoors as a transitional experience for teenagers, especially those farthest from opportunity.
Our Model
Each year 800,000 young Kenyans enter the workforce with a youth unemployment rate of 35%. In fact, 80% of all unemployed Kenyans are under 35 years old. Unfortunately, the Kenyan education system doesn't always give young people the skills they need to enter the workforce or become leaders in their communities.
Students are typically taught by rote memorization and lack the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills, resilience, and agency that can come from outdoor education experiences. These tools can be meaningful during the uncertainties and adversities of finding and keeping a job, setting up their own businesses, or facing rigorous higher education environments.
Change & Growth
We utilize qualitative evaluation tools like the Most Significant Change Technique to ensure that young people's voices drive our program design. These stories are coded to show common impact aspects like improved confidence, competence in new skills, and increased resilience.
The long-term goal is for participants to self-identify as empathetic, ethical, and resilient leaders. In the short term, we promote equity and inclusivity by providing access to teenagers, especially those farthest from opportunity in Kenya. We also track the economic need of students entering our programs to ensure we hit benchmarks for serving marginalized youth.
Our Programs
Navigate Adolescence
Outdoor Skills Training
Navigate Adolescence
Designed for young adults to interact with other teenagers in a new environment while receiving coaching, support, and mentorship from our instructors.
Signature Programs
- Shine to Womanhood - Age (13-15, 16-18)
- Journey to Manhood - Age (13-15, 16-18)
- Youth Leadership Adventure - Age (13-15, 16-18)
Gap Year Adventure
Outdoor Skills Training
Navigate Adolescence
Discover our transformational co-educational experience designed for young adults waiting to join university, tertiary colleges, trade school, or start their journeys to adulthood.
The program is designed to provide physical, social, and cultural challenges that push their limits and provide them with an adventure of their lifetime in the wilderness.
Outdoor Skills Training
Outdoor Skills Training
Outdoor Skills Training
Do you enjoy spending time outside hiking, camping, running, fishing, peak summits, climbing, or mountaineering? Hone your outdoor skills and professional training to lead others.
Professional Courses
- Mountain Trip Leader
- Hike and Camp 101
- Technical Mountaineering Skills & Rescue
- Leave No Trace
Wilderness Medicine
Outdoor Skills Training
Outdoor Skills Training
This program recognizes that the outdoors is a great endeavor, and the reality that any outdoor activity has inherent risks.
Learn how to manage risk and respond to any medical emergencies.
Training Courses
- First Aid 101
- Wilderness First Aid
- Wilderness First Responder
- Crisis management and Search & Rescue
Our Leadership Team
James 'KG' Kagambi, Co-Founder
James 'KG' Kagambi, Co-Founder
James 'KG' Kagambi, Co-Founder
Since the 1990s, KG has been an outdoor educator leading expeditions in the US, Chile, and East Africa. Similarly, he is the founder and owner of KG Mountain Expeditions and has become the first Kenyan to summit Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. KG is passionate about sharing his skills and experience to grow the outdoor recreation industry in East Africa.
Will Wamaru, MBA, Co-Founder
James 'KG' Kagambi, Co-Founder
James 'KG' Kagambi, Co-Founder
Will is a relational and collaborative culture change leader and educator. Grounded by Ubuntu's humanistic values and a profound belief that ethical, resilient, and compassionate leaders change the world, A fea vibrantial justice and sustainability advocate who works with individuals and organizations to ask critical questions for continual improvement and sustainable internal change.