Art market paints rosy financial picture for youth group in Meru
A mat made from dried banana leaves and waste paper is among the group’s most popular products. PHOTO | OLIVIA MURITHI
Mount Kenya Community Foundation, a youth group based in Kathera, South Imenti in Meru County has earned local and international accolades for its artwork.
The group makes portraits, jewelry, mats, handbags, decorative accessories, beads, table mats, portraits and crochet work, besides security systems installation, welding and agribusiness.
The group was started in 2009 by Ms Lucia Karimi and was registered in 2010 with the aim of fighting poverty among the youth.
It started with 28 members but has nearly doubled this number to 45. Initially, Ms Karimi started the group because she was uneducated and could only acquire menial jobs which were not rewarding.
She realised that there were many others like her in her community who had lost hope and sought to give them inspiration. After mobilizing the initial membership, they got together and identified each member’s talent, nurtured and tapped it to earn a living.
“We enrolled young people who had failed to find gainful employment. Each member contributed Sh200 which we used to buy beads from Nairobi,” Ms Karimi says.
She says they initially raised Sh2,500 for raw materials to start their venture but soon realised they could not afford to regularly buy the materials.
They subsequently switched to waste materials and other locally available items like seeds, waste paper and dried banana leaves, an option which was cheaper and sustainable.
After learning the ropes of their various art, they approached the Youth Enterprise Fund (YEF) for capital and secured an initial loan of Sh20,000 and training on how best to invest the money.
Three years later in 2012, they group had opened an exhibition shop in the market, immensely growing their visibility.
Demand for their artwork increased. The group currently makes over Sh110,000 in sales per month on market days at Nkubu, Maua and Meru, including supplying supermarkets in the three towns.
The YEF has also connected the group to international and local exhibitions, with exports earning them another Sh160,000 a month.
Mount Kenya Community Foundation is among the exhibitors at the Youth Forum, one of the events that is taking place at the ongoing United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14) conference in Nairobi.
“Each of the 45 group members earns Sh500 daily from the business, providing them with financial freedom,” said Ms Karimi.
The group has sold their art to influential Kenyan personalities like President Uhuru Kenyatta, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto and Majority Leader in Parliament Aden Duale, among others.
They recently made a Beyond Zero portrait that Mrs Kenyatta commissioned and bought for Sh45,000.
The Beyond Zero Campaign which is being driven by the Fist Lady aims to improve maternal and child health in Kenya.
The group had also been invited by a Ugandan minister to decorate his home and his group of hotels. They will leave for Uganda on August 3 where they will be hosted by the minister for two weeks as they work.
Apart from art , the group practices agribusiness to supplement their income.
“We recently received two greenhouses from the Ministry of Agriculture. We ventured into agriculture to accommodate youth who do not have an interest in art,” she explains.
Ms Karimi says young people should join progressive initiatives to improve their lives despite their educational backgrounds. She intends to start a similar initiative for women to take advantage of the Women Enterprise Fund.
