Used Car Tires and Women: A Profitable Partnership
Umoja is a small village located in a remote area in northern Kenya. Interestingly, no grown men live there and the women are the leaders, unlike the neighboring villages. The woman of the Samburu Tribe fled their original village to escape abuse and named their new home Umoja, meaning unity.
In the village, resources are used in entrepreneurial ways. Used car tires, for example, are transformed into rubber bracelets. Umoja artisans carefully cut the thickest section of the tire and smooth it down until it is level on all sides; they then carefully stitch each round of beads into the rubber.
The proceeds are put into a joint village fund that is used to maintain and develop schools, shops and a community center where leadership training and crafts take place.
A percentage of proceeds are also reinvested in the Entrepreneurs in Handcrafts program, set up by Vital Voices, to help strengthen the role of local women artisans and turn them into businesswomen.
What are great example of women power!
Entrepreneurs in Handcrafts is just one of the many programs Vital Voices has established. They have helped enable women all over the world to become change agents in their governments, advocates for social justice, and supporters of democracy and the rule of law. They train and mentor women with management, business development, marketing, and communications skills to expand their enterprises, help to provide for their families, and create jobs in their communities. They are at the forefront of international coalitions to combat human trafficking and other forms of violence against women and girls.
