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Giveaway: Zulugrass jewelry

Zulugrass: a socially conscious giveaway



I want to introduce you to Zulugrass, one of the lines of natural material jewelry marketed by The Leakey Collection. The company was founded in 2002 by Katy and Philip Leakey when a devastating drought in Kenya (2001) forced the men to leave behind the women and children, so they could take the surviving cattle far up country in search of grazing land. The Leakey’s found themselves helping to support as many as 100 Maasai families by giving them money for food, school fees, medical expenses and housing. This was not sustainable for either party and the Leakeys knew they had to find another way.

The answer came from the fibrous, hollow, drought-resistant grass that is a plentiful natural resource of Kenya. It so tough that even the Maasai’s hungry cattle won’t eat it. In fact it was regarded as such a unusable nuisance. Now that very grass is turned into beautiful jewelry.


Zulugrass is the flagship line in their collection. The work includes the design and manufacture of contemporary jewelry that is hand made by the Maasai women and men of Kenya from environmentally sustainable materials. Zulugrass is sold in individually or in multi-strands, which allows you to get precisely the color, depth and weight of the jewelry that you want. It has an earthy, organic look and feel, yet is completely modern.


***FREE STUFF ALERT***


I am really pleased to be able to pass on to you a gorgeous piece of Zulugrass jewelry that was sent to me for review: a multi-strand twisted green bracelet.  Leave me a comment below and you’ll be entered into the drawing.  Tweet the contest or post it on your facebook, etc and you can leave a second comment to be entered twice!  If you are involved with any fund-raising or socially beneficial companies like this one, please leave a link as part of your comment…we all want to know what opportunities are out there for helping others through our work!

Here is a video which shows you the many ways you can wear your Zulugrass jewelry:






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Comments

Linette said…
They're beautiful! Love the green.
I'd love to win this! It looks gorgeous!
Bobbi Ann said…
Hi, what a gorgeous piece of Zulugrass jewelry that you're having for your giveaway. Thanks so much for this chance! I hope that you have a wonderful rest of your day and everyday!
Bead Happy!
Hugs and happy beading...
Bobbi
I would love to have it because I have never seen zulu grass before. the picture is beautiful.
Carol
Wow!!!! beautiful colors!!!
Doreen said…
Wow! This Zulu grass is beautiful!
Doreen said…
I posted about your giveaway on my blog :)
Lisa Caryl said…
Such a beautiful piece! I looked at their website and I'm so pleased to see that I can get their beautiful jewelry locally! Thank you for the informative post and the chance to win the bracelet
Chloe said…
Tweeted! I love finding people who try to make the world a better place by creating beautiful things - what a great idea :-)
Jen Judd said…
What wonderful stuff! I can't wait to go explore and see more! I'd love to share a link for my brother's organization in State College, PA: http://www.sozoart.org/ It's all about art and outreach...thought you might find it interesting! :) Jen
Cyndi L said…
Jenny, I have to go check that out...I'm *from* State College! You?
Carole said…
The zulegrass is beautiful. How funny that they used to think of it as a pain in the grass! (Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I'll stop now.)
~ Cee ~ said…
That is lovely! Green is one of my favorite colors! ~Cee~
ceevegnashville [at] gmail [dot] com
Suzie said…
I think it's amazing to use materials from the earth as much as possible! Beautiful piece!
Michelle Mach said…
What a beautiful spring color! Thanks for sharing this--I'm always on the lookout for new organizations like this.
Unknown said…
This is stunning!! I have an allergy to nickel which keeps me from wearing most jewelry that I can afford :-)), so I usually make my own without clasps or nickel-free findings when I can find them, so this is perfect. Thanks so much for presenting this.
Joell said…
The bracelet is very cool looking - and gives me a better idea what to expect if using the Zulugrass. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Cyndi
Bracelets are really my thing, and with springtime being close to unfolding, I'd love to win this very springtime bracelet! Thank you!
Will tweet and stumble you now!
:o) Noreen
Gayla said…
I don't wear jewelry often, but when I do, I feel so girlie! Maybe I should more often. Living in this house on Lake Testosterone calls for a little girlie fix now and then :)
Diana said…
What a wonderful idea -- I love anything that empowers women in poor societies to pull themselves and everyone around them up!
Cyndi...bracelets, bracelets and more bracelets...I can never get enough...and what a GREAT color, especially with spring here (FINALLY)...gorgeous bracelet, I love it...
Perry said…
OMG, that's the most gorgeous stuff I've ever seen!
That is sooo pretty. Thank you for the chance to win.
Terry Biz said…
It's beautiful!! but I would love to see in in person!
elaine r said…
I love the jewelry-beautiful and so unique!

Elaine R
emrosser@shaw.ca
lisa oram said…
Wow - I have to learn more about this stuff. Maybe I could incorporate it into some of my bead crochet work. Thanks for the chance to win!
Jeannie said…
I'm familiar with Zulugrass but have never worked with it before. I use a lot of recycled and fair trade beads in my designs so this a whole new venture for me.
Susanm said…
I am constantly looking for ``green`` jewelery materials, particularly with a social-economic beneift. My son asked me to make some of my jewelry to raise money for the local children`s hospital - we are planning to do some school craft fairs next fall. OUr specialty are bracelets/necklaces made from hand-embroidered felt beads.
Laura said…
Just gorgeous! AND a terrific story of how the company was started. Thanks.
Mellisa said…
Such a springy green shade, love it!
Hi Cyndi
I love the video that goes with this post! It's full of really creative ideas!
I love the bracelet so much that I stumbled, tweeted and facebooked you all over again!
:o) So neat! thank you!
Anonymous said…
How pretty. Anyone would love to win.
Elizabeth
LeVert92 at aol.com
saoriweaver said…
What a great use of the grass - and I love the spring green. I would love to win this...
So glad to learn about Zulugrass. Thank you also for the giveaway!

Amy artsyrockerchick[at]aim[dot]com
Anonymous said…
Beautiful bracelet. How wonderful that they have found a way to make an unuseable resourse into something useable.
Ellen Barth
Sheila LZ said…
I've collected a bit of Zulugrass jewelry when we travel to Sanibel Island, Fl. That's the only place I've known to sell it! I'm so glad to see this info on it and new work.
Thanks for posting . . .
Happy Trails,
Sheila
Very pretty! Wonder how it would look on me? ;-)
cab said…
I love Zulugrass jewelry. I have a friend who travels and has seen these up close and is in awe of the women who make them.
THanks for this opportunity.
chris
Karen Gill said…
I visited the Leakey Collection site and they have some awesome Zulugrass items!! It's very cool, and I know it would go with...me!
cindyleeb said…
These are beautiful and I appreciate your support of the women of Maasai. Here is a link of an organization I support who's mission, to help impoverished women create sustainable businesses, is in keeping with this: http://www.sowhope.org/
Thanks for the post, and would love to win. : ) cindy
Cyndi L said…
Thank you for sharing that link, Cindy!
Shai Williams said…
I recently won a couple Zulugrass Necklaces/bracelets and they are great!! Whoever wins this will love it
Leslie Todd said…
Very pretty! And a great idea too.
recycledhippie said…
Thanks for the opportunity! I can already see a million ways to use this and would love to have the bracelet so I can see the fiber!
Leslie Todd said…
And I retweeted.
cjvierow said…
So pretty! How great to make something out of "weeds" that's so beautiful. Thanks for the interesting story, too.
I was able to live in Kenya and saw where the Leaky family lived. It was really amazing!
Sparkle Queen said…
Hey Cyndi! I've never seen Zulu grass before! This is very cool! I'd love to win it and see it in person!

Thanks as always for sharing your passion and creativity!

Dawn
Anonymous said…
Just wanted to leave a link to an organization I support whose motto is "Eradicating poverty one bead at a time". www.beadforlife.org/indexA.html
Dianne
P.S. The giveaway bracelet looks awesome!
Cyndi L said…
Thank you, Dianne! I'm going to do a post soon which shares the other sites folks have emailed and commented about :-)
Linda said…
The zulu grass jewelry is incredible. Beautiful, lush or sparse, colorful, amazing. I'd love to work with zulu grass in making my own jewelry. I love looks that are earthy yet elegant, which the zulu grass provides. Thank you for sharing this excellent resource ~ Linda Talbott
Mzuribeads said…
Hi, hope you don’t mind us leaving a note to tell you about our fabulous Ugandan Recycled Paper Mzuribeads, Barkcloth, Banana leaf, and recycled Glass beads ON SALE at MZURIBEADS.COM.

Here you can check out a selection of ethical and eco beads all made by groups building sustainable businesses and promoting environmental awareness.

Thank you for your support, and for promoting sustainable bead projects.

Mzuribeads
Luckeee said…
That stuff looks awesome. I think I need to try weaving with it!
trina dunbar said…
Love these beads! I volunteer with Peacecraft, a Fair Trade Store in Albuquerque, New Mexico. If I win, I'll donate the Zulugrass beads to Peacecraft. Thx! www.peacecraft.org