Circa 1970 it was easy to buy records from established stores in the city of Nairobi. The varied collections of some people today are evidence that vinyl was big here, as it was in other markets around the world. 7"s were especially popular and a lot of records of Kenyan and East African music were pressed in this size. But today, accessing these troves of decades-old craft is extremely difficult, with only a handful of collectors meeting regularly or keeping in touch with each other mainly through the We Love Vinyl Worldwide group on Facebook. 

In a bid to do music-lovers and collectors alike justice, I have began a reclamation process based on free donations and/or sale of old records from friends of friends. Those with records that they no longer play either donate or sell them to me and I put those that I am unable to purchase up on Discogs for sale on their behalf. 

This session details my experiences trying what some have considered bizarre — asking strangers to let me dig through crates upon crates of their dusty records in a bid to find them new homes. It also invites discussion to better the process and/or learn from other enthusiasts.