WFEN Welcomes BeadWORKS Kenya – A Business Line of NRT Trading – as 3rd Certified Enterprise in Kenya
BeadWORKS, which empowers women and conserves wildlife in northern Kenya, is now Certified Wildlife Friendly™
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ISIOLO, kenya: – 31 march-2017– The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN), a global community dedicated to the development and promotion of products and tourism that contribute to the conservation of threatened wildlife and to the economic vitality of rural landscapes, is pleased to announce the awarding of Wildlife Friendly® Certification to BeadWORKS Kenya, a business line of Northern Rangelands Trading Limited (NRTT), providing conservation-linked economic opportunity to people and communities in northern Kenya.
When you empower women in northern Kenya, you are supporting children’s education, boosting local economies and protecting wildlife. Every BeadWORKS item is handcrafted by one of over 1,000 women from 9 NRT community conservancies. The women gather together under the shade of an acacia tree to craft individual beaded items for sale all over the world. Through BeadWORKS, they are able to earn a living using their traditional beading skills rather than through livestock grazing, charcoal production and other environmentally damaging activities.
BeadWORKS empowers pastoralist women and changes their attitudes about local wildlife as they discover the connection between bead sales and wildlife protection. The ripple effects of these attitudes spread through their families and communities, creating broader impacts for wildlife. Many species – in particular elephants – are thriving as sustainable businesses grow around conservation. Since 2012, elephant poaching in northern Kenya’s community conservancies has dropped by 53%.
“We know from research around the world that improving women’s lives is a key poverty alleviation strategy because they invest in their future and the future of their families. Women also often make important decisions about the use of natural resources in a community. By giving wildlife an economic value while alive, rather than for meat and parts in the illegal wildlife trade, and by directly linking wildlife and habitat conservation to livelihood benefits, you have accomplished something quite significant. We applaud the wonderful work of the superstar women entrepreneurs of BeadWORKS,” said Julie Stein, Executive Director of WFEN.
By buying Certified Wildlife Friendly® products from Beadworks consumers are helping empower women and families, and conserve wildlife and natural resources in northern Kenya.
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About Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network
WFEN and its certification programs represent grassroots farmers, ranchers, artisans, indigenous peoples and conservation heroes from around the world, including two World Bank Development Marketplace Award winners, a U.N. Equator Prize winner, leadership in the world’s marketplace for REDD+ Carbon Offsets, a Time Hero for the Planet, and a National Geographic Big Cats Initiative grantee. Certified Wildlife Friendly® products contribute to the conservation of over twelve million hectares of diverse wetlands, forests, and grasslands; protect keystone endangered species in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin and North America – including the snow leopard, tiger, elephant, cheetah, red panda, and wolf – and benefit over 200,000 people through increased food security, income and employment. For more information visit: www.wildlifefriendly.org
About BeadWORKS
BeadWORKS Kenya is a business line of Northern Rangelands Trading Limited, providing conservation-linked economic opportunity to people and communities in northern Kenya. For more information visit: https://www.beadworkskenya.com/
Instagram @beadworkskenya
Facebook: Beadworks Kenya
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Contact
BeadWORKS
Beatrice Lempaira – beatrice.lempaira@nrt-kenya.org
Wildlife Friendly
Julie Stein: Julie@wildlifefriendly.org