Synyati Womens Project

The Synyati Project started 12 months ago and comprises a group of 14 Masai women living in a very remote area of the bush between lake Boringo and lake Bogoria. John and Mary had visited the group last year and given some basic Beekeeping training. Today we were visiting the group so that Mary could train the women in using beeswax to make added value projects.

Culturally as this is a women's project no men will get involved and similarly a man's project would never involve the women.

In Marigat we met the leader of the group, a young lady called Caroline. She had been to Nairobi to get a Visa so she could come to the UK in order to be presented with an International Award for the work she has done campaigning against Female Mutilation, a practice that still takes place here in Kenya.

Meeting Caroline you soon realise how it is possible for a small village, in a very remote area of the Kenyan bush to make contact with Bees Abroad, some 4,000 miles away, to get help. Her energy and commitment is tremendous. Caroline squeezes into the car with us and off we go.

The trip from Marigat to the village is normally about 10km along mud tracks and takes 40 minutes, however due to rains in recent days the most direct routes were impassable and our trip involved an additional 20km detour. There were no roads, just a mud surface with wheel tracks on that Samuel followed. The journey takes 90 mins and Caroline directs us through the bush. No road maps or satnav would ever find this village. On the way we spot several Ostrich and a couple of monkeys.

We arrive at the village and are greeted by the other members of the Synyati group, everyone is excited. A table and chairs have been set out half way up a hill under the shade of an acacia tree, this is the classroom. Lunch has been prepared, local fruit, stewed meat, vegetables, washed down with african tea - delicious. Considering these people are so poor their generosity is overwhelming.

As we have lunch it starts to rain but three of the ladies stand up and 'wave' the rain away. Only first born females can do this - sure enough the rain stops and the sun comes out again.

Mary leads the group in training making a skin lotion with an insect repellant ingredient. The ladies love it, and can see how they can use their own wax to make this to sell at the market in Marigat. A succesful session.

The ladies present Mary, John and I with beautifully embroidered clothes in the local Masai style.

They then showed us, with great pride, their apiary. In their first year they have harvested and sold nearly 150Kg of honey. That is a fantastic result.

We hope to come back tomorrow to do more training on Value Added products.

The trip back to the guesthouse has to use the same detour, however now the ground has dried a bit and the mud dust rises as we drive along. When we get back to the Guest house my grey hair is Yellow with the dust, clothes are equally dirty.

In the evening the dinner time is made more exciting by the arrival of a frog jumping across the floor and then a scorpion runs across the floor. The security guard quickly removed the scorpion. The mosquitoes came out in great numbers and chased us off to our rooms for an early night.