BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Nanyuki Spinners & Weavers is a women's self help project registered under the ministry of Culture
and Social Services started under the umbrella of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa on July 4th, 1977. Basically it was started with the main aim of training poor, widowed and single women living
in the surrounding villages of Nanyuki in the craft of Spinning, Knitting and Weaving with the main objective
of making them self reliant. Nanyuki was targeted because it is one of the major wool producing areas
in Kenya with its weather being favorable for sheep rearing and raising. It was agreed from the beginning
that half of the proceeds acquired would go directly to the women under the project
and the other half would be retained at the center.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Over 282 women have been trained at the center to date with 137 of those at the center now.
Others have started their own projects in other parts of the country. Some are selling spun yarn
to weavers and knitters to form the sister groups.
Most women have been able to move from being squatters in the villages they lived
to acquiring their own pieces of land and building their homes.
Most of the women have been able to educate their children through primary schools
to high schools, and some have taken their children to University level from their share of proceeds.
They have been able to provide its sister group members with raw materials and encouraged them
to sell their products through the display shop for those who have not established
reliable market for their products.
The women who have ventured into private businesses have offered employment
to other women around Nanyuki and other parts of the country to help them earn a living too.
The women's social lives both at the center and outside have been enhanced
through consistent reminding of the value of good morals,
as the project has a strong church background.
CHALLENGES
Since the 1998 Nairobi terrorist attack, Kenya was given a travel ban by the International community.
With the larger percentage of the customers being Foreign tourists, the project
has been without good market for its finished products.
With the lack of sufficient market, the center has been unable to recruit new members
for training and has been losing most of the sisters to unemployment when it cannot sustain them.
Acquiring raw materials has become the biggest challenge because many of the suppliers
have taken to selling their wool to bigger companies who are able to pay very high prices.
The suppliers are also exporting their wool to other countries, especially South Africa,
where there is a great demand for it and a bigger profit margin.
The sister group members who embarked on the sale of spun yarn to weavers are fast losing
business since they are unable to purchase wool from the suppliers.
Nanyuki Spinners & Weavers is now unable to supply yarn and other raw materials to some of the sister groups, and they are now shutting down their businesses at a very high rate.
Deadlines for orders given to the project are sometimes not met because of
consistent lack of raw materials, especially wool.
GOALS
The Board of Directors and the head of departments held a meeting and resolved
that if the project could produce its own raw materials, most of the challenges would be overcome
and the project would be back to its mission. Their goal is to try to raise enough funds
to acquire a piece of land and raise its own sheep to be getting wool from.
The land would also be planted with trees and dye plants. They must rely on friends and well wishers
to accomplish this mission.
NEEDS
5 Acres of land @ $2083 per acre - total $10,415 for land
Fencing - posts and barbed wire - total $959 for fencing
Sheep - $41.60 per ewe, $116 for the ram - total $1,152 for sheep
Shed - total $486 for shed
Total Expenses - $13,012 USD
