Enterprise

The vast majority of people living in the Guludo area rely on subsistence farming and fishing, leaving them extremely vulnerable to crop-raiding elephants, droughts, floods and diminishing fish stocks. With tremendous pressure on parents to find food for the family, many children must help in the farms instead of going to school.

To alleviate these pressures, Nema runs a series of enterprise initiatives designed to help families supplement their incomes.  For example, we work with over 100 artisans to produce a range of local goods for sale at the Nema shop at Guludo Beach Lodge:
•    Tailored beach bags
•    Palm-woven jewelry
•    Palm-woven mats
•    Pottery
•    Tailored jackets and aprons
•    Cushion covers
•    Purses made from recycled materials
•    Wall hangings

We also target our enterprise initiatives at certain vulnerable groups who would struggle otherwise to earn an income. For example, we work with orphaned and vulnerable children and pregnant women to make colourful door hangings. Using local material, the children make tight little balls, which are then attached by the women to long strips of material to create bright and lively door-hangings. By paying all those involved a contribution for their work, this is just one of the ways that Nema provides financial support to these groups.