Colorful handbags could be way out of poverty for Kenyans

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Colorful handbags could be way out of poverty for Kenyans

Written by John Szozda

Friday, 09 July 2010 09:12

Which handbag can you buy to feed a starving family?

a) Gucci

b) Coach

c) Burberry

d) Eburru

The correct answer is Eburru, the Kenyan village where women entrepreneurs by necessity are stepping out of their cultural roles to become breadwinners.

Gitti Bertalan will tell their story to members of the Hungarian Club Sunday, July 11. Gitti has been instrumental in opening a market here in the United States for the colorful purses hand-made from a hemp-like yarn and dyed with the juice of crushed berries. She has sold 153 bags, mostly on her Facebook site. She has raised more than $3,000.

This small start has made a difference in the lives of those living in the drought-stricken village located in the Rift Valley, four hours northwest of Nairobi. In this area of the world, people don’t go to the grocery store for food, they grow it. No rain, no food.

Gitti, 23, an archeologist, has witnessed the suffering famine has inflicted on this village of approximately 1,000. She first visited in 2006 as a member of a church mission team. She conducted Bible studies and Sunday school, and worked with a nutrition program. Since then, she has returned three times. Last year, when the drought brought famine to the village, Gitti helped the village women form a support group. A profitable idea emerged from this group--make handbags based on the designs created by generations of Eburru women to decorate the baskets used to tote supplies on their heads.

Nine to twelve women are involved in the project. Last year, the income was used to purchase maize for bread-making and 12 goats. The goats supply milk for the children. For a villager whose family consists of five to six children and whose income is less than $1 a day, the new business has made a dramatic impact.

“To them it’s a way to show that their hard work pays off. They’re so humble about it, but at the same time, they are excited to see they can do things on their own without depending on their husbands to provide for their families and their children and their community.”

If the bags become popular in the United States, the income could see the village through the next drought. It is Eburru’s remote location and unique terrain which make it solely dependent on rain to irrigate crops. Annie Laurie Walters visited Eburru during the 2009 drought and wrote about her experiences for a blog on the David’s Hope website. She wrote the village is located in the mountains, 8,000 feet above sea level. It sits near the equator on a dormant volcano where temperatures regularly exceed 100. The heat releases steam from the ground, drying it from below while the sun bakes it from above. Hence, more rain than usual is needed to recharge the reservoirs. There is no electricity, running water or plumbing. In addition, recent civil unrest and skyrocketing food prices have made Eburru’s situation dire.

Without rain, villagers cannot feed themselves and they have no crops to sell. Making handbags is a way to diversify the economy. It usually takes one woman one day to make a bag. They come in various sizes and sell for $12 to $25.

Gitti will be returning home for her presentation to the Hungarian Club. She is the daughter of Rev. Imre and Magdalene (Ujvagi) Bertalan. Imre was the minister at Calvin United Church of Christ from 1979 to 1986. He was also a social and political activist involved in issues that affected the Birmingham community of East Toledo. She attended St. Stephen’s School until the family moved to Ligonier, Pennsylvania, 45 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Gitti hopes more women will begin making bags. She is also hoping to bring Eburru jewelry to the United States market.

“I think it’s wonderful to see people in different parts of the world working together to improve each others’ lives,” she said.