Daring Women is about giving pastoralist women in northern Kenya the extra support they need to start and maintain businesses.
Target Group
Pastoralist women in the arid and remote northern half of Kenya who have business ideas they want to develop and grow, either as individuals or in groups.
Objectives
To provide the extra support these women need to sustain and grow their businesses. In traditional pastoralist societies women bear the greatest responsibility for the family’s day to day needs but have the least control over how family resources are alocated. Women are often left alone with this responsiblity for long periods while men are away with the livestock or at jobs in distant cities. Despite having little or no education, and few experiences out side their village, many women start businesses of their own as a means of obtaining income that they can rely on.
Methods
As well as providing training in basic business skills we help them overcome hurdles such as poor literacy and other fundamentals that inhibit their success in business. We also help them to expand their experience and knowledge with field trips, site visits, information exchange between like minded women from different areas and mentoring.
What We Need
In addition to basic business skills trainers and teaching materials we are currently looking for volunteers with experience in paper making, leather work and jewellery design. We also need funds to pay for the transport and accommodation costs of the women’s site visits and practical experience programs.