Welcome to the Umoja Women’s Web Site, where you can purchase beautiful beaded items made by Samburu women of Northern Kenya. We are happy to be one of the designated partners of the Half the Sky Movement to offer you a special collection of items. As Rebecca Lolosoli indicates in the PBS Movie, the women depend on the sale of their beaded items to support themselves and their families.
The Umoja Womens Fund, a 501c3 non-profit, pays the women directly when they produce each item. The labor price paid is approximately 2x the established fair wage for Kenya. Additional money is distributed to the women periodically from the income received through on-line and direct retail sales events. Remaining income and donations are given back to the community to support projects that the women have selected. These on-going projects include scholarships for the young girls, teachers salaries and lunches for the Umoja pre-school, a fresh water project, and most recently, a health care project and support for entrepreneurial training conducted by BOMA .
All who support the work of the foundation are volunteers and receive no income for their work.
You can be proud to purchase an item that directly supports the women artisans in such a full measure.
