Makutano Junction

Makutano Junction is a weekly drama series set in a typical peri-urban East African town. The drama follows the lives, loves, frustrations and successes of a small African community living in a context and a manner familiar to tens of millions of people on the continent. Makutano Junction has a regular audience in Kenya of over 6.5 million viewers, together with viewers in other countries.

Mediae’s team of East African writers and film-makers craft the series as a carefully balanced drama and popular development communications tool, so that viewers are attracted by the gripping, high quality entertainment each week and doubly rewarded with relevant and practical information.

Through the carefully written script and a cast of familiar characters, Makutano Junction models real-life dramas and dilemmas as well as their solutions. It highlights basic rights and injustices while demonstrating remedies and best practices. The results are loyal weekly audiences of multiple millions across Africa.

The Makutano Junction communications model is adapted from well-established two-step mass communications social-change theories.  An important part of this is Makutano’s unique interactive mobile SMS/Text interface. Together with the website www.makutano.org this enables thousands of viewers to obtain detailed follow-up information about key development issues tackled each week and ask personal questions of experts. Research shows that Makutano’s interactive and participatory elements significantly deepen the project’s impact.

Watch an Episode of Makutano Junction

Series 5 - Episode 2: Who's the Man