Welcome to the Zulugrass Gallery!

The grass story………..

Hand crafted by the Maasai women in Kenya , this jewelry is a single stretchy strand of glass and grass beaded masterpiece. This imaginative idea was born from a desire to help the Maasai whose livelihood had been devastated by a three-year drought, which ended in the fall of 2001. Many of the Maasai’s cattle died during the drought. This resulted in the men leaving their families to take the starving few cattle left to find better grazing, sometimes hundreds of miles away. It soon became evident that the women needed work to help feed, clothe, obtain medical supplies and educate their children.

The women harvest the grass by hand one blade at a time. The long grass is then cut to size and dyed lovely hues of blues, greens, reds, yellows, pinks, purples and natural. Once the grass beads are ready they are mixed with glass beads to add the glow of color and light that gives the jewelry its sparkle and contemporary flare. The beading is done by the experts, the Maasai women of Kenya .

The colorful single strands can be twisted four times around a wrist to form a lovely comfortable bracelet or around an ankle as an anklet. It can be worn many ways as a headband or hair tie and to hold a ponytail in place. Several strands can be worn as a long necklace or twisted twice to form a choker.

Maasai women have, in many cases, been able to reunite their families as they earned enough to purchase cattle to restock the herd. Still choosing their traditional lifestyle the women continue to bead as they have always done but now they may earn money, which they apply to better their lives as they wish. The grass jewelry continues to provide a much-desired income for the Maasai women of Kenya .

Provided for you by

My Little Duka