Women from pastoralist communities have for years been using beads to make ornaments they wear for beauty.
Beadwork is a tradition that all women were expected to learn as part of their heritage.
Some of the ornaments are worn to attract suitors while others are for social events such as weddings. The colour patterns are used to signify age and social status.
Materials used for beadwork included grass, shells, seeds and clay before the communities started trading with others to obtain other materials such as plastics and glass.
Now, women from Samburu, Laikipia, Isiolo and Marsabit counties are using this tradition to make a living and transform their lives economically.
Women who were for a long time relegated to household work as men took to herding cattle can now support themselves and their families through beading.
The art that has seen their products access the international market, raking in about Sh32 million that has benefited over 1,200 women.
Margaret Lakelia, one of the beneficiaries from Kalama Community Conservancy, narrated how she would herd cows and use the time to engage in beading.
Then a hobby, Lakelia said she was surprised when the Northern Rangelands Trust, an organisation comprising 43 community conservancies, introduced beading training.
Lakelia jumped on the chance to hone the skills she already had, saying she was interested in learning the modern beading methods.
She also needed to learn how to combine colours for better aesthetics and was more than ready to ditch herding.
After successfully undergoing the training, the mother of eight started making money out of the art and now leads a group of women from her conservancy.
She then joined a savings group which enabled her to improve her family’s standard of living.
“I was able to buy solar lights for my home and I can now provide my family with the medical care they need while complementing my husband’s efforts to bring food to the table,” she said.
Lekalia said the programme has helped eradicate extreme poverty in her community and has transformed many families.
Another beneficiary, Margret Kaparo, said commercial beading has helped women overcome some retrogressive traditions that relegated women to the kitchen.
“This programme has moulded women into leaders but more civic education is needed for more men to embrace change and stop rejecting women's empowerment,” she said, adding that women are not interested in toppling men’s leadership and only want to compliment them.
Some men, she said, have forbidden their wives from participating in such empowerment activities and want them to stick to traditions.
Beading, she said, has shielded women from the harsh effects of climate change that have pushed many pastoralist families into poverty as their livestock die due to persistent droughts.
About five per cent of their annual income is channeled towards mitigating climate change, she said.
Karin Sepeika, the beads production manager at NRT, said each community conservancy appoints a leader who acts as thea link between them and the organisation.
The leader receives beading materials and proceeds realised from the products on behalf of the members.
Sepeika said the beading project equips women with improved bead-making skills to produce quality market-oriented products.
It also sources for modern materials for beading and markets, she said, adding that glass and seed beads are acquired from the Czech Republic.
The products that include beaded jewelry, belts, bags, laptop cases and trinkets are marketed through an online store to buyers from other countries.
“This project helps women to engage in income generating activities that do not degrade the environment,” Sepeika said.
NRT’s gender and social inclusion director Beatrice Lempaila said the project helps the community in conservation of natural resources and wildlife through self-governed community conservancies and sustainable social and ethical enterprise.
“We also bring together business leaders to share experiences, challenges and opportunities of building resilient, sustainable businesses that can contribute to climate action and promote gender equality,” Lempaila said.
