Welcome to Palo Alto's First Friendship City!

​The Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously during summer 2024 to move forward on the next steps to bring our first Friendship City into the fold. Welcome Narok, Kenya! 

Friendship Cities are similar to Sister Cities, but a bit less formal in structure. Narok, situated west of Nairobi, is in one of the most wildlife-rich areas of the country. It is the seat of safari tourism and the world-renowned Great Migration and Maasai Mara National Reserve. It is the district capital of Narok County and is the major center of commerce in the district. Like Palo Alto, the city  has a population of around 65,000 people, primarily Maasai. 

Our own Barb Mackraz has forged deep ties to Narok and the region over many years as the founder and executive director of Oliveseed Foundation and co-founder of the grassroots nonprofit Oliveseed Kenya Trust. In the Maasai Mara, Barb and her team develop libraries and other educational resources for villages and the most underserved rural schools and run a women's work center with sustainable livelihoods for women, among other projects. Among other initiatives, the relationship focuses on sustainability and literacy.