In the Naboisho Conservancy in the Maasai Mara of Kenya, a group of women – The Naboisho Women’s Group – is building diverse opportunities through traditional craftsmanship, collaboration, and environmentally friendly enterprise development.
The Naboisho Women’s Group, supported by the Great Plains Foundation, is now made up of 175 women working together in beadwork craft production, honey harvesting, and eco-friendly soap-making. Through these activities, women are generating income, supporting their families, and strengthening their independence within their communities.
For many of the women involved, these skills provide an additional source of livelihood alongside traditional pastoral life. The work allows them to contribute to household needs, invest in their children’s education, and build greater stability for their families.
At the centre of the group’s operations is Maggy Ntika, Production Manager for beadwork at the Naboisho Women’s Craft Centre. Maggy trains women in beadwork design and techniques, oversees quality control, and ensures that women are fairly compensated for their work. She also welcomes visitors to the centre, sharing the story of the women behind the craft and the cultural significance of Maasai beadwork.
Maggy Ntika. Great Plains Foundation – Naboisho Women’s Group. Maasai Mara, Kenya
Her motivation for stepping into this leadership role comes from a deep connection to her community. When asked what inspired her to take on this role, Maggy explained:
“The passion I have to empower the Maasai women in this case our mothers, as a role model, and an elite from my local community.” “The journey has not been easy, since I have a family to take care of (children, husband) and also the women are looking upon me to lead and manage them in the daily operations of the center,” she says. “Balancing this is a challenge for me, however it is like a calling for me and therefore I will always manage my time between family matters and leading the women.”
Over time, she has seen meaningful changes in the lives of the women involved.
“The women now are able to support themselves, be it paying the school fees for their kids, buying homestead basic needs such as food, clothes, and even building a little better houses for themselves,” Maggy says. “This has changed the Maasai traditional narrative of depending on their husbands for everything that they may need.”
These shifts have also strengthened the women’s confidence in the Naboisho Women’s Group.
“Through this, I have seen these women becoming independent of their own and also the confidence they built in providing for their families.”
For Maggy, women’s empowerment is closely tied to dignity and self-reliance.
“It means women can get what they need without fully depending on their husbands, paying school fees for their kids and also becoming family providers,” she explains. “Since empowering a woman is empowering a society.”
The skills developed through the Naboisho Women’s Group are an important part of that shift.
“These skills offer a different knowledge of a living other than depending on the normal source of income that is the livestock,” Maggy says. “It is also a way of building confidence on women that they can also work and earn a living through the work of their hands.”
Today, the 175 women involved in the Naboisho Women’s Group continue to build livelihoods through beadwork, honey production, and soap making, demonstrating the strength that emerges when women have opportunities to develop skills, support one another, and contribute to their families and communities.
A special thank you to our Earth Partners community of monthly donors and Great Plains Conservation for supporting this work on women’s empowerment programmes that preserve cultural heritage and promote eco-friendly enterprises. Honey produced by the Naboisho Women’s Group is purchased and utilised at the Great Plains Conservation Camps, where guests relish the community’s organic raw honey.
Maggy, Naboisho Women’s Group and Great Plains Foundation team. Maasai Mara, Kenya.
If you would like to support this work, visit the donate page here or email info@greatplainsfoundation.org for more information.
