This dust storm has blown up from the Rift Valley, 1500 feet below our camp. The valley floor is so barren that the fine earth is swept up over 7000 feet enveloping everything in its path.  It can take us up to three days to clean up after a storm like this because the powdery brown earth gets into cupboards and drawers and coats dishes, clothes, everything.  They are spectacular to watch though, and when they come,  we usually sit on the hilltop relishing the eerie darkness that tumbles over head and blocks out the sun for an hour or more. 

I was just stepping out from under the bucket shower and noticed a baby puff adder on a rock in the shower with me.  It took me a while to figure out how to capture it without getting bitten but eventually got it into my bedside glass water pitcher.  It sat on the kitchen counter while I cooked breakfast, and I’ll wait until Philip returns to let him release it far from camp. 

Babies this small aren’t far from the others, there must be a large clutch somewhere near the bedroom.

Kenya is still experiencing the worst drought in living memory.  Although the April rains have come to Tanzania and parts of Kenya, they have failed where we are in the Rift Valley.  Most of the Maasai have moved their cattle to Tanzania until December, providing that the November rains come on time.

The remaining wildlife is left to cope as best they can.  We have seen more dead zebra than we can count, and each week, there are corpses scattered across the bottom of the barren Rift.

Educated estimates at the loss of wildlife could be as high as 80 to 90% in our area.  The seed base has been depleted to such a degree that little grass will grow when the rains do come the first couple of seasons.  It could take up to five years for the landscape and wildlife to recover.

Luckily, the rain has come to the Maasai Mara, one of Kenya’s most majestic game reserves far to the west of us, and the animals there will survive the 2009 drought.  For us, it remains a sad and devastating blow to the environment.

We also have been asked how the drought and the economy have affected the Maasai women who work for The Leakey Collection making our Zulugrass jewelry.  On average, we now have between 200 to 300 women working, which is substantially down from the 1400 of past years. However, we feel very fortunate to have such loyal followers as you so we can continue to provide the work opportunity to as many Maasai as we do.  The entire team at The Leakey Collection, including the Maasai women, are very excited about the new products that we are working on here in Kenya that will expand that work opportunity.  We thank you for your continued support.

Kimere (pronounced ki-mer-ee) Nkurruna, 17 years old, loved to pretend to be a mother when she was a young child, often making her own mud dolls to feed, nurse and care for just as we girls have done for centuries. Many of the dolls made here show both genders with fanciful ears and glass beads for eyes. The nose is carefully placed above the eyes and the mouth deliberately below the neck.

These dolls rekindle an old memory of a game my mother played with me, as a baby, when she bathed me in the sink. While drying me, she used to cover my head with the towel and gently pinch my nose and guess that it must be an ear, then pinch my ear and guess that it must be a mouth. Each time she was wrong, I giggled even louder until I finally pulled away the towel so she could see that she had been wrong all along. My mother would love these dolls!

Kimere’s mother taught her how to be a good mother by teaching her how to look after her children, feed them, and get them off to school should they be lucky enough to go some day.

Dreaming of their future, what Kimere wants for her children is not so different from any mother, for them to have a good life and to get a good education. She spends her days stringing Zulugrass jewelry and loves doing so. She says it is her favorite thing to do and that it makes her very happy each day to have work and to string beads.

Kimere loves to celebrate holidays with her family and says that her favorite reason is “it is another day that God blesses me to see.” I wish my mother could have met Kimere because they share the same fanciful, artistic nature and enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life and, at least in the case of my mother, grateful for every single day.

In honor of my mother and mothers across the globe, The Leakey Collection is offering a special gift this Mother’s Day. Use the promo code “Mother09” upon check-out at www.leakeycollection.com to receive a free single strand of Zulugrass as well as 10% off your entire order. This offer is good through Monday, May 11, 2009.