the power of handicraft to help women and wildlife
It is our goal to improve the lives of the people living in south-eastern Kenya in the area between Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park, by nourishing their skills and empowering them to find a creative and environmentally sustainable way to make a living.
Hadithi sales provide an income for people living in a vulnerable ecosystem. So by buying handicrafts, customers are helping to conserve a threatened forest full of wildlife, as well as helping the wonderful and kind people escape poverty in their daily lives in a dry area in south-eastern Kenya.
OUR WAY
Hadithi Crafts Support CBO is an umbrella organisation representing a number of officially registered women’s groups which make handicrafts in south-eastern Kenya.
At present time, Hadithi sells the crafts from 65 women’s groups, this way helping to financially empower around 1850 women.
Hadithi plays a supportive role for these women’s groups by helping them to build their capacity, improve the quality of their products, improve sales through joint marketing efforts, and learn business and other important skills to improve their lives overall.
All of the profits from Hadithi sales, as well as any other money received from donations to Hadithi Crafts Support CBO, are used only to offer support to these women’s groups.
We are working towards the certification for the NEST Seal of ethical craft - The highest standard for assessing artisan homeworker production and supply chains. The NEST seal is the only certification measuring social compliance exclusively within informal supply chains where handcrafted products are produced. It's unique and first of its kind and measures everything from how wages are calculated and ensuring payment, to what materials are used, how they are used, and how they impact both people and the planet.
OUR VISION
We believe the benefits created by sales are numerous.
They are reducing the reliance upon farming, which is itself unreliable due to scarcity of rain in this semi-arid area.
They provide an alternative to environmental destruction: an alternative to poaching vulnerable wildlife (elephant, zebra, giraffe…), or cutting down forest for charcoal, timber and farmland.
They offer a way to preserve beautiful traditions like weaving baskets and beading jewellery, by allowing them to evolve alongside modern market economic developments. More than this, it provides a learning platform for younger generations to continue some of the practices of their forebearers.
Most importantly, it gives people the ability to sustain their families. Most if not all the money that ladies receive goes straight to education, health and nutrition for the entire family. The ladies making handicrafts get the practice that leads to skills, satisfaction that leads to self-esteem and encouragement that leads to initiative. A feel of a future.
With a population in excess of 1 billion and an underemployment rate as high as 80-96%, Sub-Saharan Africa is confronted with an unemployment crisis that has kept much of the continent in poverty over the past century. With few living-wage jobs available, we don’t just see a problem to be solved; we see an opportunity for countless people to find meaningful work and make dignified contributions to their communities.
Watch the videos in our stories capturing our impact better than words!
our Partners
With the help of our partners we even more feel like we can make a difference:
Wildlife Works, a company who have been in the area for 20 years and are focused on conservation, are creating many jobs in the area. They make substantial money from carbon revenue to flow into the communities for development projects, such as schools and water catchments. Wildlife Works also provides vital logistical support to Hadithi Crafts Support CBO. Standing alongside Wildlife Works, we feel we can make a real difference in this poverty struck area.
Over the years we have forged some powerful partnerships, helping us to achieve so much more:
Since 2017 we have an amazing partner in Belgium called ‘Solid Crafts’. Not only do they sell our sisal baskets in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Luxembourg, they also contribute a substantial yearly donation to help us to impact more women, and impact all women more. With their funds we have built two group houses, trained 9 new women groups in sisal basket weaving, started a leather workshop, and more…
In 2022 we started a leather workshop as part of the Buguta Disabled group. We now can add various styles of leather finishing on our baskets, with locally sourced goat’s leather. The leather is tanned locally by Magwede self help group, another group of artisans we trained near Buguta. We have been able to establish this thanks to the funds of Solid crafts, Titamed and Everland.
In 2023 thanks to a Cigna fund and associate, we have partnered with Kujuwa Initiative to develop 4 modules on female health, which offer important and relevant insight on female and reproductive health topics all our member women groups.
Thanks to a grant from Everland, we can start up the Hadithi Dye centre from january 2024, to ensure all dyeing practices are compliant with the highest social and environmental standards.