Despite the terrible state of the global economy and these challenging times, we feel fortunate that February has given us nice and mild days here in Kenya (been in the 80s this week). The sky is clear, the grass is high and the landscape is a stunning sight to behold. Philip and I continue to work with our wonderful neighbors who provide inspiration to continue making and designing Zulugrass, Zuluwood and the other products that are The Leakey Collection.

When times are tough, it is important to appreciate the people that you are with and the place where you are. We are lucky to be living in this amazing environment among the Maasai. I draw such inspiration from our magnifciant surroundings. Each day here is a new adventure, and we never know what we might encounter. We enjoy watching the wildlife and recently encountered a beautiful sunbird building a nest for her family outside our tent.

It is ironic that one of our best selling notecards is called Lady Sunbird, and here was one right on our doorstep! This female bird spent exactly 8 days constructing the nest from tips of long seedy grass, small delicate twigs and secures it all with a good sticky coating of spiders webbing. About an hour after sunup she would come to work with a beak load of building material and launches in to a long morning of flying from brush to nest and back again, making about 110 trips in an hour. The male was with her on the first day, but then kept away until now, as he watches over her while she carefully makes her selections and flies them back to her very smart abode.

Philip says that he was the architect and didn’t need to come all the time, just to stop in to make sure she was getting it right. My version? He is watching out for her from the trees to make sure she’s safe from the falcons while she works. What can I say? I am a romantics at heart. Truth be known, he’s off at the nearest blossoming aloe with the boys guzzling nectar while she gets down to business. A few days ago another female, hussy she was, came and tried to steal the male away and take over the nest! With grass fluff in her mouth, our clever little mother-to-be chased her away and gave the male a good lecture; much chirping, shrill shrieking and darting about. What a commotion! Exciting as a British soap opera, but the family is back together and all is well.

Neither of them seem to mind Gizzy, our Abyssinian cat, sleeping in my chair just 10 feet away. Gizzy and I have a lovely morning ritual of drinking tea and watching the light slowly pour over the hills, listening to the honking zebra and hoots of the horn bills. On the best of mornings, Giz gets her morning strokes curled up on my lap while Philip and I watch nature’s day shift come to life. Lady Sunbird seems to enjoy the family life and goes about her business without interruption.
We are waiting to see when she lays her eggs and will keep you updated on Lady Sunbird’s progress.

Another amazing animal story. One morning, Philip witnessed an amazing sight as he was sitting on our verandah enjoying his morning cup of tea. He was watching a mother and baby sunbird feeding on nectar from a sprig of lauranthus blossoms. As the mother flitted from one red and yellow flower to another her weight made the delicate branch bounce, knocking the unsteady baby to the ground. She immediately flew to the ground where upon the baby hopped on her back, she took flight and about 3 feet above the ground she dipped and launched the baby to flight.

The pair repeated the act one more time while he was watching. In all his years in Africa he has never before seen a bird do this. We were wondering if anyone else out there has observed this amazing behavior. Send your most amazing animal story into thebush@leakeycollection.com and we’ll post the most amazing sightings on our blog. Stay tuned for more Amazing Animal Stories!

One of the wonderful benefits of living here is we frequently witness the beauty of nature in the rarest form. Philip and I have seen some of the most incredible & exotic animals on Earth simply living their daily lives in their natural habitat. These beautiful creatures never cease to amaze me- and I must admit, it is difficult for me to capture images of these rare and amazing animal- but will do my best to share with you.

The Praying Mantis & Robin Chat
While enjoying a peaceful lunch alone a few weeks ago, I was joined by a very large, 3” long, praying mantis who sat on the top of the chair at the end of the table. A moment later a daring Robin Chat darted in to have a big lunch of mantis herself. The startled mantis hopped to the seat of the chair with the Robin Chat in pursuit. Of course I jumped up to see what happened and when I looked in the bottom of the chair there was the stunned bird and a huge scorpion, stinger curled up and lunging with large pincers at the bird. I looked under the chair to see what happened to the mantis and then realized that the mantis had transformed itself into a scorpion!

The shocked bird made two mild, foolhardy attempts towards the mantis/scorpion and wisely flew away. I was incredulous and needed a witness, knowing that no one would believe my story. Luckily Ludo happened onto the verandah and I asked him to look into the chair. He flinched and started to sweep the scorpion away; I stopped him and told him to wait.

After about 5 minutes the animal slowly began to reshape itself into a mantis. The only thing I can think of is that the animal has chambers that fill with gas, a chemical reaction, because when I closely studied it I noticed that the mantis’ front legs had small folds that had ballooned into false pincers and its abdomen also had folds that had become notched and forked like the tail of a scorpion. Absolutely amazing!

I asked every etymologist we knew and no one was familiar with this species. Finally, a year later, my curious nephew found a website that showed pictures of a type of stick insect that transformed into a scorpion. Even more amazing since the stick insect is already well camouflaged. True story!
Send your most amazing animal story into thebush@leakeycollection.com and we’ll post the most amazing sightings on our blog. Stay tuned for more Amazing Animal Stories!

Photo Credits:

Praying Mantis photo 1- www.uoguelph.ca

Praying Mantis photo 2- aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu

Scorpion photo-www.calacademy.org

“Going Green” is not only about being kind to the Earth, but also being more conscious of your choices and mindful of our overall human experience. So in the vein of supporting human life, today is National Wear Red Day in support of heart disease awareness. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States!! The statistics of people affected by heart disease are startling.

How can you show your support and expand your awareness?

Wear Red today and encourage your friends and family to do as well! Proudly wear your red Zulugrass strands and make a statement!

To read more on how to support this effort, click below:

National Wear Red Day

Educate yourself and your loves ones on ways to prevent cardiovascular disease , learn some new facts and practice a healthy lifestyle. Be sure and take a look at your own family history and diet and learn the signs of heart failure and what you can do to save a life.

As everyone knows, this has been a very busy year for Philip and I and we have had the privilege of traveling extensively for our company. One such journey to Switzerland last Fall where we were the guests of The ITC, International Trade Centre, an arm of the United Nations. They had invited us to speak at the W.E.D.F., World Export Development Forum. During the trip, I was struck by the lush and rich landscape; very different from our world in Kenya! Looking out the train window I was surprised to see so many vineyards. I had no idea that Switzerland grew grapes and made some pretty good wine. It felt like a holiday and was of some sort for us since we were traveling on someone else’s dime!

This year’s focus of the forum was Consumer Conscience: How Environment and Ethics are Influencing Exports. We were selected as “specialists on the ground” or as we say, “those with dirty between their toes”, with the work that The Leakey Collection has been doing in this arena for the past 7 years. Philip was asked to speak about innovation of environmentally sustainable materials and processes while I was asked to address consumer conscience and the market place, in other words did I believe that customers were in fact driving the market and was this immerging market here to stay or was “Fair Trade” merely a temporary ploy to get people to buy products.

Boning up on statistics, I figured I had better to keep my head up around so many Ivory Tower types, I came across some staggering figures. Transnational Corporations (TNCs), are defined by the United Nations as “an enterprise with activities in two or more countries with an ability to influence others”. Taken from the book, 50 Reasons to Buy Fair Trade, by Miles Litvinoff and John Madeley, “In 1999, 51 of the world’s 100 largest economies were corporations, 49 were governments.” That statistic took my breath away. The authors went on to say, “The top 200 corporations’ combined sales are bigger than the combined economies of ALL countries except the largest ten.” According to the book in the 1990’s there were roughly 37,000 TNCs with 170,000 foreign affiliates. “By 2004”, says UNCTAD, “the number of TNCs had risen to some 70,000 transnational corporations with at least 690,000 foreign affiliates.” A fourfold increase in a little over a decade, the authors concluded.

Transnational Corporations influence government policy by shire economic power and the best way to counter that is to buy Fair Trade goods. Buying Fair Trade puts money directly in the hands of producers, it is democratic, transparent and decentralized by nature allowing communities to grow as they see fit. When you buy Fair Trade products you are truly, “Making a Better World”!

Those of us who buy or produce Fair Trade goods know that we are putting our money to work by connecting directly with people in other parts of the world, giving them the opportunity for a better life. I told our story and your experiences and thoughts that you have shared with us over the years, to give not only a compelling but accurate portrait that, “Yes, consumers are driving the market and yes it is here to stay.”
They were also interested to know that many of you balance your purchases of Fair Trade products of gifts and FT food items with the need to buy certain items at a discount; clothes for young children, etc., thus using your economic power wisely. That your desire to buy more Fair Trade is strong and as more products come on the market to fill in the gaps you’ll be there to buy them.

It was an educational four days and Philip and I were pleased to share the huge changes you consumers have made in the lives of so many with your purchasing power. The trend is growing more powerful by the day and more people in poverty are being given a place at the economic table as a result. We thank all of you for your continuing support of Zulugrass, you are providing the opportunities for women that they normally do not have, the economic resources to feed families, educate children and build a better more stable life. By shaping the market you are shaping the future.