New Jewelry: Africa Paper Beads & Maasai Beadwork Stament Necklaces

Fun new jewelry that makes a difference. 

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Beadwork made in Arusha, Tanzania. These pink beads are handcrafted out of recycled paper. Oooo La La! I just love the color of these beads - and perfect for Valentine's Day! Help share the love around the globe!

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These seed bead discs were handcrafted by Maasai (Masai) Women in Tanzania. These beautiful tribal women are working hard to help provide for their families through the hands of their work.  I designed this bib necklace to make a BOLD statement. It Pops! The blue, yellow and white designs pair nicely with the silver chain. 

These are available in our etsy store. If you are looking for items that are created 100% in Africa visit our Imani Design Big Cartel Store. 

Weathered Hands & Loving Hearts of the Masai Women

Masai women of Engikaret beading with  a friend who helps them to sell their goods.

You really wouldn't believe how hard these women work. That is until you took a glace down at their hands. Instantly you become aware of the intense labor these women face daily. They cook, they clean, they gather, they build. They do almost EVERYTHING in order for their families to survive. The women are the ones who gather the materials, prepare and build their manure/mud huts (Boma's). They are incredibly amazing. 

Whenever our family is in Maasailand we always jump at the opportunity to walk out into the great expanse of what appears to be nothing but desert. It never fails - I will be walking for what seems like quite some distance along a barely evident trail in the dirt when all of a sudden we stumble into a village of boma's. 

It is amazing to me how the huts blend, by design,  right into the surrounding land. These villages are built & maintained by the women but ruled by the men. Many of the Mama's of this land are still what we would consider to be children,12-14 years old. As much as this may seem heartbreaking in our culture it is very common in theirs. The girls are chosen by the husbands at a young age. Many are still in their Mama's bellies when they are picked for marriage. It is quite common for them to be one of 10-12 wives to their husband. Their lives and activities are chosen for them pretty much from beginning to end. 

Take a moment and think about what it might be like to have no voice. No matter how hard you tried to speak, write or communicate nothing would come out. Or if you could manage to finally blurt something out you would be beaten, knocked down and wounded. I imagine this is what life holds for them. 

I can tell you LOVE can bring change. 

I have seen it with my own eyes - I have touched it with my own hands. 

Love brings hope. Hope springs forward into a new way of life where you can see possibilities that you were once blind to. These women are learning that they are loved. They are being cared for. These precious women are learning that God loves them and has a plan for them. They are also being educated about health, as well as being taught skills. There is opportunity for them, hope and most of all LOVE! This is life changing.

Making jewelry is one opportunity these women have been given to help change their futures. Culturally beading is woven throughout the history of the Masai.  However creating a product that the world wants to purchase and wear is one of the areas that our friends have been helping them with. I do believe they have done a splendid job with the final product though!

These are just a few of their beautiful designs. There are many more in my etsy store listed at the top right. Won't you help me in the journey to help make a difference in someone's life. Bringing hope to  the hopeless is the BEST thing you will ever do.

TOGETHER: a Labor of Love

Pamoja 3 Strand Necklace
(Together in Swahili)
$24

TOGETHER.  Depending upon our life experiences this word has the potential to stir up many different thoughts, emotions & beliefs. 

The meaning of this word for me has sojourned the distance from here to Africa...half way around the planet. Along the dusty path of this journey this word "together" has not just changed but has become of far greater worth to me. It is deeply planted into my heart. It has become a huge part of what our family stands for.  

Let me tell you, show you, a bit about the journey.

TOGETHER our family began traveling to Africa.

yr: 2007

We began to discover the very essence of ...

TOGETHER

Soon the word TOGETHER in it's rawest form

spanned the globe.

(my daughter Maddy in 2008)

5 years later, 5 journeys later, and TOGETHER has grown roots even deeper into our hearts then we could have imagined. Together now represents:

LOVE   Compassion      FAITH    Hope

     STRENGTH      Family

ALL PEOPLE

This year, while we were in Arusha, Tanzania, one of our dear friends shared her beautiful handmade jewelry with us. She carefully handcrafted every single bead with precision. This in itself is a labor of love. It takes a substantial amount of time to create one single bead - let alone the amount it takes to have enough made for one necklace. 

You would think with the amount of hours she has spent meticulously laboring to create each bead  she would want a sound return on her investment. She made... she should profit - right? That would be the way here in the States. Yet this precious woman breaks the sales revenue down into percentages for different people she does life TOGETHER with: a Children Home (orphans), HIV Support Group, Maasai Women. She stops herself from just handing out money like band aids by getting everyone that benefits  to contribute something... TOGETHER all are invested. It is BRILLIANT!!! It is beautiful. It is a wonderful example of doing life TOGETHER.

Jacinta - white head wrap, purple top.

Here is this beautiful woman working side by side with the Maasai. This was taken 4-5 years ago. She has been consistently working with the Maasai to help empower the women by teaching them trades and providing opportunities for them to sell their goods.  She is constantly creating more & more TOGETHER. One minute with this precious lady and you can feel instantly you are now walking TOGETHER through life with her from that moment on. 

Can you see it? Just within this post there are SO MANY levels of TOGETHER! It doesn't end here either. It continues. We all make a decision individually to be a part of TOGETHER. I hope you seek out your TOGETHER and truly value it deep within. EMBRACE it.

I have many of the items that have been made by the Maasai women and other women in Arusha, Tanzania in my etsy store. If you would like to help support them TOGETHER with me you can purchase one of their pieces. They are B E A U T I F U L ! 

                  Baraka (Blessings),

     Kimber