travelling in kenya with whole foods market

A canadian in kenya.

More specifically, travelling to kenya with Whole Foods Market to meet amazing people doing amazing

things in an amazing place.

My name is Lindsay and I LOVE working at Whole Foods Market. A LOT.

It’s not just the people, the food, or the cool things we get to do.

Whole Foods Market also has some incredibly important initiatives and projects. One of them being Whole Planet Foundation.

Very simply put, Whole Planet Foundation provides grants to Microfinance Institutions around the globe so they can offer microloans in countries where whole foods market sources products. You might be familiar with the organization because all the stores do a big fundraiser for it every year.

Whole Planet Foundation Quick Facts:

• Microcredit is small loans - usually less than $300 in the developing world

• 100% of money donated goes directly to microcredit loans (Whole Foods Market pays all administrative costs)

• WPF provides grants to microcredit loan organizations around the world

• 89% of microcredit clients whose loans WPF fundS are women, and the repayment rate to the microcredit institutions is currently 96%

I know what you’re thinking…

What does this have to do with kenya?!?

Whole Foods Market has a program where team members can apply to volunteer in a country where Whole Planet Foundation dollars are put to work and where some unique partnerships are making a big difference. Accepted Team Members fundraise for the cost of their flight and Whole Foods Market Pays the rest. Team members get the experience of a lifetime and come back to share how shopping dollars are making a difference in the world.

That is how a Whole Foods Market-loving canuck ended up in Kenya, discovering more than she ever thought she would.

Here are three organizations you need to know about:

1. One acre fund 2. Ol pejeta Conservancy 3. Ctc international

If you’ve never heard of them, don’t worry, Imma fill you in.

Our first stop as a group after arriving in nairobi was to drive 6 hours on some very bumpy roads to webuye to see one of the regular meetings one acre fund had with a group of farmers.

one acre fund is an organization that has received funds through whole planet foundation.

one acre fund provides microcredit loans to local farmers. For every 8 FARMERS or less there is a group leader. With these microcredit loans farmers receive…

…Regular trainings on the latest farming techniques…

… repayment support…

…and incentives such as farming equipment for early

repayment.

During the meeting we heard farmers tell us how One Acre fund had changed their lives.

They now had enough food to eat and support their families with.

The anger that filled their communities had disappeared.

They sang a welcome song for us and danced as we left.

It was a pretty profound experience, that we all agreed was surreal.

These people had faced such hardship and had jumped on the first opportunity to improve their lives and were now thriving.

I think we realized for the first time that microcredit loans are a new type of ‘giving’. It’s not about charity.

it’s about empowerment and partnerships.

We were pretty spoiled to be able to take a sarari at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. And I know most of us were expecting to see this:

But it was better.

The 90,000 acre conservancy is where some of the most bad-a#$ animals in the kingdom live. Including lions, elephants, zebras, rhinos, cheetahs, warthogs, chimps, and giraffes.

We visited the OL PEJETA chimp sanctuary which was founded by Jane goodall. We saw SOME chimps that used to be pets now living in a large sanctuary and discovered the different threats these endangered species face.

The rhino conservancy is an inspiring place in ol pejeta where workers are committed to increasing rhino population numbers and protecting them from poachers.

This is me feeding barak, a blind rhino.

Hard work, but someone had to do it!

So what does this have to do with this?

The answer is this.

The 5 fingers represents the 5 areas that they are working on developing: • Education • Environment • Economy • Health • Community

Ctc international is based Austin Texas and works in maai mahiu kenya where: • 80% of youth do not make it past the 8th

grade • Less than 1% of citizens make it to university

• As of 2011 Kenya’s unemployment rate was 40%

Ruby Ruth runs the education department of ctc and was The Whole Foods Market Team’s host extraordinaire from ctc international.

Ruby took us on a walk through her neighborhood in Maai Mahiu where ctc has implemented a waste removal system.

She talked about how much of a difference ctc has made in the streets of where she lives.

Ruby walked us to the ctc headquarters where we visited children living with disabilities who were receiving daily care & education. For almost of all them it was an opportunity that they had never had before.

Allowing their mothers to work outside the home and support the family.

Nearby are the L.I.F.E. Line studios where products are made by the ‘Malaika mums’. It started as 9 moms of children with special needs making change purses and other items to earn an income for their family. We met over 40 women working on the latest order of products to be sold in whole foods market soon!

Josephine holding up her latest project.

Some proceeds of this bag benefit the ol pejeta conservancy!

L.I.F.E. LINE (Livelihood, Invest, Future, Empower) provides income for the Malaika mums, supports ctc international, and helps build the local economy in maai mahiu.

Ctc international continues to help its community grow with the opening of its new café ubuntu. The café was built with money raised by whole foods market through a 5% Day. It sits on 9 acres where the ctc offices will eventually be. Surrounded by farm land, the café, and even a soccer field for local youth to play.

The café will support ctc from proceeds from coffee sales to both tourists and locals. We got to try the very first espresso from their new machine donated by whole foods market.

The whole foods market team got to work painting the new café, planting some trees, and building benches.

Team Members came from whole foods market all over north america to work as a team at ctc’s new café. Strangers at the beginning of the trip were close friends by the end. Promising to support ctc well after we returned home.

One of the last things we got to do was visit more Masai women who made gorgeous beaded barcelets & jewelry which is sold by l.i.f.e. line and can be bought at whole foods market stores.

Now it’s your turn! How you can help:

• Purchase l.i.f.e. line products

• Donate to whole planet foundation

• Visit www.ctcinternational.org

• Visit www.oneacrefund.org

• Visit. www.olpejetaconservancy.org