Afrikable empowers women through fair trade

The work of this entity takes place on the island of Lamu in Kenya. By the creation of different producer groups as textiles, recycling, jewelry and sandals, women on Lamu island contribute tot he UN's 2030 goals with regard to the principles of fair trade, as well as respect for the environment, fair pay and gender equality by employing women to make them financially independent of their husbands, as they can never become landowners. Some of them have previously worked in textile or shoe production but Afrikable gives them the opportunity to have a decent job guaranteeing the labor rights, providing decent wages with a fixed salary, vacations, avoiding child exploitation and respecting the environment.

These women are taught to read and write in order to know their rights. In that way, Afrikable bets for Fair Trade as a tool for cooperation and global justice and provides training, education and assistance to their children to make sure these women become independent.

Four projects which empower women while taking care of the environment and their economy

In the Jimudu Women Group they fend high-quality textile fashion clothes even those women who didn’t even know how to sew on a machine at the beginning of the project. 

Lamu Recycling Solution Women Group it is made up of a group of six women who work with recycling, transforming waste materials into fashion accessories and household items. In this way, Afrikable offers a job opportunity as an alternative to the forced labour that these women had. At the same time, they fight for the environment and against the deforestation since they use material collected from the street and the beach as plastic bags, bottle caps, broken ceramic pieces, wood from old boats, among other in order to make soap from used oil, crochet from plastic bags, jewelry, ropes and home accessories.

These women also create traditional jewelry and gift items in the Maasai Women Group and thanks to Viatu Project Women Group they make high-quality sandals and fashion accessories in an absolutely traditional way.

Afrikable currently offers training, literacy, work and support to nearly 50 women in extreme poverty and at risk of social exclusion. In times of high production, hiring reaches almost 100 people.

Afrikable beyond the fair trade

The entity goes beyond helping women as helps more than 120 boys and girls who can have free access to the nursery school, the free dining room, after-school workshops and/or primary and secondary school scholarships.

As part of the Environmental Protection program, every month they clean their area and collect materials for their homemade future products.

For those who want to get to know the island or the entity, Afrikable have been organizing Solidarity Holydays and safaris for twelve years in order to show to other people the reality of those women and the country.