One of my favourite ranges on the Green Tulip website (and one which I wear most days!) has always been the Zulugrass jewellery. Zulugrass is a unique and versatile type of jewellery made from vibrantly dyed grass combined with sparkling hand blown Czech glass beads – all threaded onto a strong elasticated thread.

Jewellery wise is is bright, simple and so easy to wear.  But it is the story that makes it really special…

Katy and Philip Leakey came up with the idea for Zulugrass after seeing the effect of the 2001 severe drought on the people of the Kenyan bush, where they live. They wanted to help the local community by providing work opportunities without interfering with local culture, and so came up with an idea that would utilise the traditional jewellery-making skills of the Maasai women whilst their men had to drive their few remaining cattle hundreds of miles away to search for better grazing.

The Massai women like to work with the freedom to come and go as their lives dictate so the work is offered in non-factory settings at “nomadic” work stations which span over 150 miles in the Rift Valley in Kenya. Each woman can choose to work when she wants to, and is paid by the piece. They now provide work for more than 1,400 Maasai women during peak seasons.

The project was a finalist in the BBC World Challenge ’08 awards which recognises small businesses around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass-roots level.

Do visit our Green Tulip website to see the range for yourself and keep an eye on the website over the coming months as we are going to be adding the new funky Zulusport range as well as the readymade ‘Multi-Strand’ Necklaces (not to mention the full 100 colours in the bestselling single strands). The only problem you’ll have is how to choose…!

One Response to “The Leakey Collection”