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
Empowering Maasai Women Through Micro-enterprise
The Oliveseed Women's Work Center in Emarti village, Maasai Mara, provides market-driven vocational skills training; a cooperative environment for learning, making, and collaborating; and business and marketing opportunities for Maasai women. There is nothing else like it in the region. The women come from 20 families in the Nashulai community-owned conservancy, a short walk away. This Center enables women to build their skills and strengths — and to earn an income for the first time in their lives. With their earnings, they're supporting their families and keeping their kids in school. Only 30% of women in this area had the chance to go to school when they were young. Now the women here are becoming multi-skilled craftswomen and entrepreneurs, bringing joy, confidence, and self-reliance to their lives, and lifting up their own families.
The women of the Work Center were already skilled beadwork artisans when they joined and while here are developing additional designs and techniques. We purchase high-quality glass beads, local leather, and the tools for them to work with. Adding to their astounding beadwork, they're now also trained in sewing, and the Center is outfitted with the machines, tools, and materials they need. They have embraced sewing, a remarkable development as most of the women live in homes without power and were not experienced with machines before. One of our priorities is sewing sanitary kits to keep teen girls in school, addressing the tragedy of high drop-out and teen pregnancy rates. All of us are passionate about keeping the region's daughters in school.
We built the Women's Work Center in early 2023, and it was quickly embraced, with the women contributing their energy and ideas at every step along the way. It's entirely solar powered. The Center is managed by a Maasai woman, Hellen Nchoko, while another Maasai woman, Kitango Karia, is sewing trainer. Hellen was previously employed in HR for Narok County, and Kitango was trained in tailoring at a vocational school. The women workers are all from the nearby village of Emarti.
2026, the Path to Sustainability
In 3 short years, the Oliveseed Women's Work Center has made a powerful impact on these women, 100s of family members, and 1000s of girls able to stay in school; and it is inspiring other women throughout the region. Up to now, this initiative has been donor funded, and our goal is to turn it into a mature self-sustaining enterprise, which will also allow more women to join in (many are asking to). As one part of this plan, the women are learning to make beautiful items from African kitenge fabrics that will appeal to buyers at safari camps and other markets, to sell in addition to their beadwork. The greater Maasai Mara ecosystem has over 150 safari camps.
A member of our U.S. team, Liz Martin, is volunteering her time, skills, and energy with the women to refine their sewing and collaborate on new designs with kitenge fabrics. Liz is a highly skilled seamstress and creative designer. from the San Francisco Bay Area. Two female MBA students from Stanford Business School are also helping us in 2026 by developing a Sustainability Plan.
"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."
Get in touch with us if you have questions! Thank you!
A message from the past, the day we broke ground...
"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
September 2022