Shanga's beading expert Amani recently spent a few days at the Lemoti Maasai Boma teaching the Maasai ladies how to refine their beadwork. This was a collaborative effort between the boma, Shanga and the Land & Life Foundation.

Amani focused the training around making the colourful beaded cuffs for Elewana guest water bottles and the Tarangire Treetops turndown gifts which all guests receive before departing the camp.

The Maasai ladies and the boma leader, Toima, expressed how fortunate and excited they were to have beading training with Amani. In their own words "we are confident now to make quality pieces that will ensure business sustainability, especially all the new beading techniques and quality of the beads".

Maasai women are artisans and in the modern world they have transformed their beading skills into a business. This enables them to have a sustainable income where they can prioritise the needs of their family, as most of the money they make from beading is for food and sending their children to school. In some cases, some can even own cattle by selling the bead work.