Thank you  Food CEO and World of Green for your support of Fair Trade. We cannot stress enough the impact it makes on lives in the bush.  We see it for ourselves on a daily basis with the work we can provide for our neighbors.    ~Katy Leakey

Living in the East Rift Valley, I am reminded everyday about the wonderful beauty of nature and its wildlife that surrounds us.   I thought I would share with you some of the wild life beauty that is inspirational to me when creating colors for our beautiful Zulugrass.
 

Lady Sunbird is one of those amazing creatures that has nested outside our tent. I actually designed a note card in honor of her. Named for the female of many of the Sunbird species, the females are usually brown with soft green tones, specifically to camouflage her presence as she builds and cares for the nest. Her male counterpart does a lot of nectar gathering and will also stand to watch and marvel while she works. 

Photo by Katy Leakey

It takes her about 10 days to build her nest which is stuck together with spiders webs – you can see how marvelously effective that is by the photo. In the beginning, the male helps for the first couple of days, and after that, he keeps a close guard while she works all day – making as many as 200 trips back and forth each day.  We counted!  Once the nest is built, she lays and incubates the eggs.  

Photo by Katy Leakey

After the babies are born, we have seen both male and female feed them – so he doesn’t abandon her. He stays to the end. He also assists in flying lessons. 

When you think about it, I believe there is a little bit of Lady Sunbird in each of us. I see it everyday with women of the Maasai that meticulously bead our designs. 

Lady Sunbird single-strand

Lady Sunbird Multi-strand

Check our store locator to find a store that carries Lady Sunbird near you. 

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Katy & Philip Leakey live in the East Rift Valley, Kenya next to their neighbors, the Maasai.  To find out more about the Leakey’s and their mission to make the world a better place, check out their story here.