#SustainableSunday with Bahati...

My dearest Green Bees, this collaboration has been in the works for quite a while and I'm so glad that it's finally come to fruition! Ethical ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce Bahati, a fair trade company that not only sells beautiful handcrafted goods, but has also teamed up with Globe & Tribe to offer experiential travel and retreats! While the Kenya Conservancies trip is totally on my wanderlust list, I'm stuck where I am, but that's ok because that's where Bahati's shop comes in!

A simple glance at their online shop should give you a glimpse into their unique range of high-quality handmade goodies, but I want to dig in a bit deeper!

It is appropriate that of all of the retreats on offer, the Kenya trip is the one that piqued my interest the most, because "Bahati" means "luck" in Swahili, the language spoken in Kenya. Bahati founder, Jen, has been lucky enough to live and work in over 20 countries over the last 15 years and her experiences in the world really connected her to the idea that while there is a great degree of want in the world, access to work and jobs provide opportunities to put an end to some of that want. Bahati was born from this idea and it currently provides a beautiful range of ethical fashion and home goods and some incredibly exciting adventures.

Jen was kind enough to send me a few of their pieces and I've got to tell y'all that their horn cuff is an absolute show stopper. The cuff was handmade in Uganda from the horn of an Ankole breed cow, which is an incredibly sturdy breed that is able to survive for months without fresh water (can you even imagine a life like that?) This breed is often cross bred with more common Jersey cows to increase the production of milk and increase short-term profit, but in the long run has a negative impact on the local biodiversity. The horns for these cuffs are ethically harvested as a natural by-product of farming operations in Uganda. Because the horns are harvested and turned into jewelry to sell, the after-market value of the Ankole cows increases, desire to cross-breed decreases, and Africa's rich biodiversity (aka purebred Ankole cows) are conserved.

The cuff is absolutely gorgeous. I felt like a worldly superhero while wearing it. It is incredibly smooth and I love that the coloring is different in each and every cuff as they all come from different cows or different parts of the horn. All of the products from Bahati are made by artisans, cooperatives, and small businesses in a fair trade. Many of the artisans are women who are paid a fair living wage for their talents. This cuff truly has it all!

... one more thing that I love... the nomadic tribes who care for the Ankole cows sing to them every day at sunrise... that thought just makes my heart smile...