Zulugrass Jewelry by The Leakey Collection- A Gift that Gives Back

courtesy of The Leakey CollectionÂ

What better gift is there than one with a special story behind it? The Leakey Collection is a unique line of jewelry handmade from natural elements from the Maasai women in Kenya.  The jewelry is made from natural grass beads and hand strung. Philip and Katy Leakey, who live among the Maasai in the Kenyan bush, wanted to help their neighbors by providing work opportunities after a terrible drought devastated their livelihood.  They came up with an imaginative idea that would utilize the excellent beading abilities of the Maasai women using grass, an available sustainable resource, as the primary element. 

courtesy of The Leakey Collection

Soon the women were harvesting grass, one blade at a time. The long grass was dried and cut into bead-size pieces and dyed lovely hues which were then strung into necklaces and bracelets. Hence, Zulugrass was born. Now over 1400 hundred Maasai women are making Zulugrass while continuing to live in their traditional life style, and they can use their income to better their lives as they wish.

 Not only are these necklaces stunning; the Leakeys invest a percentage of the profits of sales to go back into the community.  Outreach programs that benefit the Maasai such as the Womens Health Initiative have been made possible as a result of sales of this product.  For information on these extraordinary pieces- visit their retail site, Leakey Life.