I am currently in Kenya and a few weeks ago, I met a Kenyan man named Ben Omondi, who runs a project called Bemos Craft Developers. He has a workshop in the Kibera slum and recycles waste materials such as cow bone and horn to make beautiful jewelry and household goods. He spoke strongly about his belief that what those living in poverty, especially youth, need most are opportunities for income generation (or jobs). He not only runs a workshop in Kibera to create beautiful pieces out of recycled goods, but also works throughout Kenya to train youth in business and marketing techniques and production of crafts. In Kibera, he has created job opportunities for several young men by instructing them to collect bone and horn from butcheries throughout the slum and sell them to vendors in a nearby market.
The reason I am writing about this here is that Ben also travels to drought-stricken regions, including Turkana, to work with the people there and help improve their livelihoods. Recognizing that these regions are not ideal for agriculture and that tending livestock is a way of life, he is introducing a more practical, valuable, and sustainable form of income generation than irrigation projects or food handouts. His work is supported, in part, by NGOs but his project is reducing the day-to-day dependence on development agencies for basic needs and enabling those in poverty to help themselves. I think de Waal would approve.
Read more about Bemos Craft Developers here: http://www.sustainable-everyday.net/ccsl/?p=207
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