Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Behrens. She and her team share their story with us below:
It all started in Kenya in the summer of 2019. It was a work trip for me—to be a team leader for high school students from Minnesota on a cultural immersion program. But after just a few days, while helping to build part of a new health clinic in Entonent, I realized just how special the women in the Maasai community are. I made a very close connection with Jenipher, who is now the leader of the women’s cooperative in Kenya. We met right away on the trip and got to know one another on an adventurous walk to the nearby church. Jenipher said it was a quick walk up the hill, which, in the end, turned out to be an hour-long hike uphill. We laughed so hard as sweat poured down my face and that is when and where our friendship began. Jenipher named me the Maasai word for “ever happy” (Nashipai) because she said I laughed and smiled all the time.
During the farewell party, the Maasai women asked me, under the oldest acacia tree in the village, if I would be able to support them in selling their jewelry abroad. Without hesitation, I said yes, and that is when the journey to start Nashipai began. Nashipai was founded as an opportunity to provide fair wages to the entrepreneurial Maasai women and has evolved into so much more by donating menstrual kits and supporting youth through work experience stateside.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road but when is starting a business a smooth road? We have had challenges with the supply chain and how to get materials to the women we partner with to their remote village. The pandemic has only put more strain on the supply chain but we are working through it. We have found an amazing logistical coordinator, Mercy, who is based in Nairobi and has access to supplies and transportation to get them to the women. Secondly, an ongoing challenge is to get the word out about Nashipai and increase our exposure. We are lucky to have amazing customers who leave positive reviews and help spread the word organically. We are now trying social media ads and that involves a lot of trial and error.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Nashipai?
We partner alongside talented entrepreneurial Maasai women who make unique and colorful jewelry and accessories that fierce badasses want to wear. If beaded jewelry isn’t your thing, we have a gorgeous line of brass jewelry. Also if you have a fur baby, we have the perfect beaded dog collars.
What really sets us apart though, is that with every sale, we are helping to solve important problems and provide opportunities.
First, for each piece of jewelry made, the women of the Nashipai Cooperative earn three times the Keyan base hourly wage and are able to invest their earnings as they see fit back into their family and community. With our focus on the Maasai women, they can spur economic progress within their community. According to the UN, when women work, they invest 90% of their income back into their families, compared with 35% for men.
Secondly, research shows that 65% of women, girls and menstruators in Kenya are unable to afford menstrual products. Nashipai buys Days for Girls Kits (reusable menstrual products) to be donated to girls and women in and around Entonent with 3% of all online sales. The kits are made by a local women’s sewing enterprise outside of Nairobi and each kit lasts approximately three years.
Lastly, Nashipai provides paid work opportunities for high school students. Youth employees complete tasks, such as helping with social media management, stamping cloth bags for packaging, and putting tags on the jewelry.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
We launched in November 2020 and we are just starting out. My advice is to take the leap and try not to compare yourself to what others are doing. I catch myself doing this and at times get imposter syndrome. I need to remind myself that what I am doing is important and unique because it is my shared vision with the women. Secondly, take every win no matter how big and celebrate it. Each and every win is meaningful and is bringing you closer to your goal.
Pricing:
- Nashipai’s jewelry and accessories range in price from $15.99-$36.99
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.mynashipai.com
- Instagram: mynashipai
- Facebook: mynashipai
Image Credits
Brianna Kirk
