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The Jojoba Project: Cosmetic and beauty plants benefit rural communities
If you check the ingredient label on your favorite shampoo, lotion or lipstick, it’s very likely you’ll see jojoba listed. The oil pressed from the seeds of this shrub can be used “as is” to soften hair and skin, or can be mixed into different cosmetics as an added moisturizer. Jojoba oil is unique in that it is chemically a liquid wax, not a triglyceride, making it more similar to the natural oil on human skin (sebum) than traditional vegetable oils. Jojoba shrubs are hardy and can survive in arid climates and rangelands. Plantations of jojoba have been established in a number of desert and semi-desert lands including Argentina, Australia,…
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The show must go on: Environmental film festival educates community about conservation
Wildlife Works in collaboration with Amara Conservation, an NGO promoting sustainable livelihoods through education, organized an environmental film festival for the communities surrounding our project area in Rukinga. WW Community Relation Officer Joseph Mwakima organized the program along with local teachers, the chairman of Location Carbon Committee (LCC) and the leaders of 5 villages in Kenya (Marungu, Mwatate, Mwachabo, Mwatate and Sagalla). The three-week-long program visited 13 different primary and secondary schools and traveled to 9 different communities. Using the Amara Mobile Film Unit, the team was able to show three different conservation films from the African Environmental Film Foundation (AEFF). The first film, “Wanted: Dead or Alive,” showcases the…
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Fashion Designers Without Borders
By Joyce Hu, Creative Director, Wildlife Works Last month, Wildlife Works was honored to be part of Supply Change’s first annual Fashion Designers Without Borders’ sourcing safari that introduced participants to artisan groups and social enterprises located all over Kenya from Mombasa to the Rift Valley. A group of 6 U.S.-based fashion industry professionals traveled halfway around the world to meet some of Kenya’s most passionate social entrepreneurs that represent what change could mean in the global supply chain. The Wildlife Works team members who joined the group included our Design and Production Manager Yugala, our Kenya Office Manager Cara, our Kenya Production Supervisor Liesl and myself, the Creative Director.…
