Trading Businesses

NRT Trading develops, pilots, and operates stand-alone, sustainable businesses in key value chains and economic sectors.

BeadWORKS

BeadWORKS is a handicraft business that harnesses the rich beading tradition of the women of northern Kenya.

When a woman understands how BeadWORKS works as a business, she can apply the same principles to other parts of her life. BeadWORKS develops women who can speak for themselves, have savings, think about the future, and plan for their kids. Empowered women have the confidence to stand for Board seats in their Conservancies, advocate for conservation and promote investments that improve livelihoods.

IMPACT

Over 1,200 women participate in BeadWORKS

Annual sales over $37,736

With the income from my beadwork, my kids are comfortable and able to attend school. I also don’t need to sell goats for money anymore, which means more milk for my family. But it’s not

all about the money. With BeadWORKS, I can use my skills, and I feel smart. It’s about your

skill and production.

Naisimari Lokorukoru, from Ngutuk Women’s Group,
Westgate Community Conservancy.

Ufugaji Bora Mashinani

Ufugaji Bora Mashinani (UBM) is a farmer’s field school training for better animal husbandry. It is also leading the way in transforming mindsets and improving livestock practices.

Pastoralists are trained in animal selection, animal husbandry, animal feeding, and livestock marketing. This collaborative approach is with county technical subject matter specialists for ownership and sustainability.

With Ufugaji Bora Mashinani, we seek to create a movement for Morans’ livelihood improvement. UBM would like to bridge the chasm between tradition and modernity by acknowledging and embracing the best from both; while acknowledging the ecological and social realities of the communities to bring changes from within. It would like to empower Morans to make their herds and lives more productive through the power of information, education, analysis, and better decision-making.

The Ufugaji Bora Mashinani manual has been developed by NRT Trading, targeting the pastoralist herder within the NRT member community conservancies in Northern Kenya.

IMPACT

293 herders involved in Ufugaji Bora Mashinani trainings.

Training in 10 NRT Community Conservancies

I am happy to be part of the NRT Trading herders training program. Before the training, I thought I understood everything about livestock farming since I grew up as a pastoralist girl, and now I am a grandmother. NRT Trading has completely changed my opinion through its training. After just a few classes, I have learned many new and great things about livestock farming. I have learned about improving cattle breeds to improve milk and meat production. I have learned about selecting good cows in the market using scoring techniques I am trained on. I will share the skills gained with other community members in my conservancy and beyond.

Jelina Lekiluai, NRT Trading herders training program trainee, Sera Conservancy.