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In September Maa Beadwork staff met with the group chairladies to talk about the changes that Maa Beadwork is going through and the change of management from Resian to Simaloi.
The ladies were delighted to be engaged directly in this way and we agreed to hold chairlady meetings on a quarterly basis going forwards.
Partnerships With Clients
(a) Rowan collective
Liz Prior visited Maa Beadwork (MB) twice this year, in May and July respectively. During her visits she placed several orders of different items. First orders in May were of 854pcs of tube bracelets,12 leather straps and 8pcs of the yellow belt bags.
In her second visit she placed another order of 235pcs of brass necklaces,69pcs of the leather straps and 712pcs of the single strand bracelets. All these orders kept our women busy throughout the months of May to July. We have shipped all her orders except two pieces that are still in production.
(b) Lana/Rowan order (‘To Last Well’’. Project)
During Liz’s second visit she was accompanied by her business partner Lana and Tabitha who is her star-beader. The star- beader trained 11 selected women from the Ingila community who are not part of the Maa Beadwork ladies.
The training aimed at skilling the ladies with unique beading technique for Rowan/Lana collection for the new “To Last Well “project. These trained women will be making her new-line of products consisting of the pouches and cross-body bags.
This came as a great opportunity for the eleven (11) women who got employed to work for this project. All the 60 pieces ordered for this project have been shipped.
(c) Yonder horse
The Yonder Horse has been of great support to Maa Beadwork. During the period we produced and shipped 67pcs of leather belts, 45pcs of the leather popper bracelets and 116pcs of the wide leather bracelets for this client.
In the last week of August, Yonder Horse made additional orders of 56pcs of leather belts, 28pcs of the wide bracelets and 25pcs of the leather popper bracelets which are still in production. Despite their complex designs, they are impressed by the great quality of the items we produce.
(d) Love is Project
Love is project ordered 1,000pcs of leather bracelets that were produced and shipped in August.
(e) Cross boundary
This was one of the big pieces ever Maa Beadwork made since it was started. It was a great project that kept our women on their toes working on the 170 single pieces and later sewn together to make this big piece. The piece was completed and shipped in July.
(f) Lapieve Limited
Lapieve limited is a holding company with different hotels in Naivasha. The company ordered 37pcs of menu covers and room folders. The items are still in production.
(g) The vertebrae clothing
This is a unique fashion company based in London, specializing in Men’s wear and Women’s wear.
We made for them different pieces comprising of the rib cages, cuffs and V-shaped neck piece and the waist band. The beaded pieces will be attached on T-shirts.
(h) Naretoi
After delivering the 234pcs of wide bracelets to Lippa Wood she was so impressed and promised to be placing orders with us. She placed a new order of the dog collars.
10pcs of the medium and large dog collars have been finished by the leather department. Ready to be delivered to the client this month.
(i) Camp Shop Sales
The following camps have been of great support to Maa Beadwork by placing orders, buying shop items for their shops and sending their clients to the shop:
· Asilia camps
· Kicheche camps
· Tanguila mara
· Great plains
Guest Visits
The shop started getting busy end of May and we are looking forward to it increasing as tourists return.
New Products Development
Monique Koenders, a volunteer from the Netherlands visited Maa Beadwork in June where she supported the leather team in developing new bags designs. Templates for backpack bags, Totes bags and weekender bags were made during her visit. The goal of this approach was to expand Maa Beadwork bag line so that the project could grow its markets and increase sales. So far, we have sold 4pcs of the weekender bag.
Sales Report
We did not make any sales in April as it was quiet all over the Mara.
Sales Analysis from March 2021 Through August
The beadwork artisans were last paid in May when 550,000 was distributed. They will next be paid in the second week of October. As of the end of August labour payments stand at 950,000 and so we expect to distribute 1.2 million during the next payment cycle. The ladies have requested to be paid three times a year, each time school terms commence.
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