Enyuata Women's Collaborative

In 2006, the Enyuata Women’s Collaborative began as a small group of Maasai women who wanted to improve the lives of their families. Today the women primarily create and sell vibrant and intricately beaded Maasai jewelry and often meet with Thomson Safaris guests near the Enashiva Nature Refuge.

We chose Enyuata for one of our first projects near Enashiva. As supporting women’s empowerment is integral to FoTZC’s mission, we helped the Maasai women establish a small maize-grinding business. In 2008, Thomson Safaris and a guest donated a maize-grinding machine to the group. With FoTZC support, the women finished building a proper facility for the machine and have fully set up their business.

We have funded two beading and business seminars to help these women improve their skills in both of these areas, which will enable them to sell more jewelry and maximize their business. Progress can be slow, particularly with more advanced business concepts, as many of these women have had no formal schooling, but they are eager to learn and are excited for this new opportunity. This project is being incorporated into our new COCOBA initiative.