The government through the Ushanga Initiative is set to train women from pastoral areas to equip them with the relevant skills needed to transform bead making into a lucrative business.
Speaking in Kapenguria when she visited the County, Sports, Culture and heritage Principal Secretary Josephta Mukobe announced that Ushanga Initiative will train 150 women per sub county in five sub Counties on bead work in West Pokot County and has already provided material which include leather and beads.
The PS said the beadwork which has been a long time traditional activity will be transformed into a commercial business that will transform the lives of pastoral women who take up bead making.
Ms Mukobe said the initiative is in line with The Big Four Agenda which seeks to add value to locally made products with the aim of increasing income for Kenyan products.
“They will also be trained on how to use machines such as looms and bead spinners to increase efficiency. This will enable the women to make different beaded items, create new designs and improve on the products to be competitive in the market,” she said.
The PS said that women, if empowered, are catalysts for societal transformation.
“We will train 150 women in every sub county who will be in charge of women groups across the County. Funds have been set aside for the Ushanga Initiative that will be utilized in training and hiring bead designers to make beads for local and international markets,” said PS Mukobe.
Ushanga Kenya Initiative is a national government project that aims to empower women who make string beads (ushanga) so that they can benefit economically from their craft.
This will be done by mobilizing women into groups, providing infrastructure and providing access to markets both locally and internationally.
The project will be implemented in 7 Counties: Narok, Kajiado, Samburu, West Pokot, Turkana, Marsabit and Baringo in a time frame of five years.
She added that women from the pastoralist communities hail from male controlled and dominated families when even ownership of property is still not understood which affects their output towards making efforts to have their own money.
“Due to the harsh environment under which women operate scanty resources in terms of water, food and other essentials makes women household chores extremely daunting, laborious and time consuming leaving no time for them to concentrate on bead work as an enterprise,” she said.
Mukobe cited that women in pastoral areas have been sidelined thus and don’t own property adding that the program which is funded by both the County and national governments will reduce inequalities by enhancing economic opportunities for indigenous women in Kenya by utilizing their indigenous knowledge.
“We target women from Turkana, Samburu, Kajiado, Narok, Baringo, Marsabit and West Pokot Counties, the women will be able to get money and buy personal needs for their girls who drop out of school because they lack sanitary towels and school fees. We empower women so that girls can also further their education,” she added.
She said that the level of poverty among Pokot women is high hence called for cooperation with development partners, cooperatives to avert this.
Devolution Principal Secretary Micah Powon said his Ministry will also support the initiative saying since independence there has been no program that targeted women from the pastoralist community, and they’ve lagged behind in development as a result.
West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo appealed to women in the County to take up beadwork as an economic activity.
Lonyangapuo said that West Pokot is a County of hidden treasures where women make peculiar ornaments. Dorothy Mashipei, the Coordinator of Ushanga Initiative said it will go a long way in transforming the lives of the pastoral women by adding value to their bead products which has been a traditional activity.
Pauline Loyara, a beneficiary, said as Pokot women they treasure the culture of beading and they do it to pass time but they have never discovered their products could be marketed locally or internationally.
“Our culture has hindered the commercialization and full potential exploitation of the beads as a source of livelihoods. We thank the Initiative for recognizing our talents,” she said.