NOT JUST BEADS: NABIKI’S STORY OF EMPOWERMENT

NOT JUST BEADS: NABIKI’S STORY OF EMPOWERMENT

MEET NABIKI LESUPER from Kalama Conservancy. She is 49 years old, married, and a mother of 8 children; four boys and four girls.

Nabiki says that before she joined BeadWORKS, life was so difficult. She is part of the Samburu tribe that have inhabited northern Kenya for centuries. It’s a vast arid environment with very little rainfall. The Samburu people depend on livestock for their sustenance and share their land with rich and diverse wildlife, including endangered species like Rhinos, Grevy Zebra, and a herd of 7,000 free-ranging elephant in northern Kenya. However, sources of income were scarce. Her family solely depended on her husband, a nomadic pastoralist. He would have to sell livestock once in a while to provide for their needs. A balanced diet was scarce, and they were unable to attend to health issues.

Ten years ago, Nabiki joined BeadWORKS Kenya, a handicraft business that harnesses the rich beading tradition of the women of northern Kenya. She initially resisted joining,

thinking it was a waste of time, but she agreed to participate after some persuasion from friends.

In 2015, her group members made her a star beader. A star beader coordinates orders, production materials distribution, and other group activities. Over the years, she realized her leadership talent. Her group is well-organized and supportive of each other. Being a star beader gave her even greater opportunities. She has been able to go on several exposure trips. Before joining BeadWORKS, Nabiki believed that attending a meeting, giving opinions, and speaking in front of the men was taboo.

Now, she confidently speaks up, which is a significant achievement for herself and other women. Her community even elected her to the conservancy board, a role that was historically only for men. She has opened a Savings and Credit account with the Northern Rangelands SACCO (a cooperative organization for community members that provides access to financial services in the form of savings and loans).

With this, she was able to educate her children. Being an active member of the SACCO, she was elected as a SACCO agent in her conservancy. She recently upgraded her house from a traditional hut to a permanent block-house, and she has opened a shop selling clothes and food.

Nabiki’s story shows that BeadWORKS is not just about beads. It empowers women to control their destinies and shows them they are capable of more than they may realize. BeadWORKS is a movement of women who can speak for themselves, who act for themselves, who have savings, who can think about the future, and plan for their children. Through BeadWORKS, women are able to take on defining roles in their homes and communities, make informed decisions about healthcare for themselves and their children, connect to the outside world through cell phones, and even give back to their communities.

BeadWORKS was initially founded by The Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) WWW.NRT-KENYA.ORG as a small, donor-funded program to organize women’s groups and help them sell their beaded products. In 2014, BeadWORKS became part of NRT Trading, a business accelerator of sustainable social enterprises. BeadWORKS underwent a complete transformation, implementing a Star Beader production system that empowered and gave women responsibility. The system improved training and gave the women access to credit and savings tools. Product quality and reliability improved immensely, and the business grew to 1,300 women, benefitting over 7,500 people.

The Northern Rangelands Trust supports 39 community conservancies across northern and coastal Kenya. NRT member community conservancies work to conserve wildlife and sustainably manage the grassland, forest, river and marine ecosystems upon which livelihoods depend.

NRT receives critical support from USAID and The Nature Conservancy.