Meet the Board
Meet the Board
MARA CONSERVATION
encouraging empathy for other life
MLP Team in Morocco
Advisors in Morocco
OLIVESEED WOMEN'S WORK CENTER
Pulling nylon cords from a cornmeal bag to reuse for beading
Empowering Maasai Women Through Micro-Enterprise
The Oliveseed Women's Work Center provides micro-enterprises, vocational and marketing training, a cooperative environment for learning and creative collaboration, and a sales channel for Maasai women. The women are representatives from 17 families in the Emarti area, not far from Sekenani. This enables women to build their skills and strengths — and earn an income for the first time in their lives. With their income, they keep their children in school and help support their extended families.
The women were already highly skilled bead artisans when they joined the Center and while here have developed additional designs to appeal to buyers at safari camps. We purchase the high-quality glass beads and local leather for them to work with. They're also now highly skilled in sewing, as we have an experienced seamstress and sewing trainer on site. A top-priority sewing program is making reusable sanitary kits to keep teen girls in school, addressing the tragedy of the high drop-out rate locally and high teen pregnancy rate. We are passionate about keeping the region's daughters in school.
Meet the Women!
This month, we're featuring Kisiong'u
Kisiong'u Kasoe
Beadwork on Leather & Sanitary Kits for School Girls
Kisiong’u is mother to 8 children, and with her earnings from the Women’s Center she is putting 6 of them through school. She's saving part of her income towards building a better house for her family and plans to purchase cows of her own so she can sell milk at the marketplace.
Kisiong’u, like many Maasai women, learned beading from her mother. She enjoys teaching other women at the Women’s Center and training in new techniques like sewing sanitary kits.
"The Center is not just a physical space. It is a symbol of hope and change. It reminds us that together, we can create a world where women are celebrated and empowered."
Read the testimonial from Hellen Nchoko, who manages the Center:
A word from Mama Nainyeyie, the day we held our groundbreaking for the Center with women and elders
"We are greatly blessed by your kind support. We grew up doing beadwork, but this is the first time to see such a wonderful project of a workshop. I believe this project will grow and open up opportunities not only for us but for the global community. We are excited to beautify the world with beadwork and art."
~ Mama Nainyeyie Kasoe
(translated from Maa by Amos)
September 2022