CASE STUDY: KAZURI BEADS

The business was founded in 1975, and before coronavirus arrived it exported products (predominantly handmade jewellery) globally as well as directly into the hands of seasonal tourists.

More than a business, Kazuri Beads is a social enterprise that employed 235 vulnerable, single mothers in order to provide them a living wage of $200 a month, as well as free medical care.

The wage is a necessity for these employees, as many of them use it to pay for food for their families, education for their children, and even bank loans to help them realise further potential by taking entrepreneurial routes.

As a result of the pandemic and its effects on the tourism industry, 135 of these women lost their jobs. Many of them are still having to pay for their loans, in addition to the accumulation of interest, without currently earning a wage, not to mention paying for the basic requirements of food, education, rent, and utilities.