Katy Leakey Interview (Part Two)

Katy Leakey Interview (Part Two)

by Jessica

The second part of the interview with Katy Leakey, founder of the Leakey Collection, explores the improvement in the lives of the women of Kenya and Katy’s experience in not only starting but also continuing her work.

When Stacey informed the interns that we would be interviewing Katy Leakey, I immediately tried to imagine what living in Kenya would be like. But to picture living in a country I’ve never been to is extremely difficult because I associate my thoughts with memories and experiences. With none to reference, I sifted through various movies, books, and news articles I had seen about Africa in my mind; to my frustration, none of them gave me a satisfyingly coherent feel of what the lifestyle in Africa was like. As a result, I was excited to see if what Katy had to say about her experiences in Africa would help me understand life in the country better.  While at first afraid she would respond to my questions with predictably generic answers, I was amazed by the vivid pictures she painted through her incredibly intricate details and stories.

How has the Leakey Collection changed the lives of the Maasai?

Katy’s efforts were primarily met with resistance as the people of Kenya feared she would try to dictate change in their culture. Luckily, as the natives saw that Katy was bent on improving their situation, more started to partake in this new enterprise.

“Since then, it's changed dramatically.”

The women were able to have a secure financial base for the first time. Many began to open bank accounts and some even started their own businesses.

“They started things like micro financing; they have their own herds of cattle and goats; they’ve started sewing operations, hotels, little restaurants, and all sorts of things.”

I was impressed that most of the women were capable of managing their hard-earned money responsibly–a skill that many privileged people have not perfected.

The Multi-Strand Zulugrass Bracelet in Angani. 

“The women are more independent and they have more respect within the community.”

Another change was the domestic relationship in families of the natives. At first, the men were reluctant to accept the fact that their wives were working for money.

"For the first couple of years, the men REALLY fought it”

First demanding that Katy pay the men for the work instead of the women, they then tried to take the money from the women, and finally resorted to hassling the women at their workplaces.

"At that point we were closing worksites and opening them somewhere else, and then closing those too."

Katy had confirmed my belief that strife continued in the household and the domestic relationships in Kenya were founded on the understanding that the men had to be the breadwinners of the family. But as she continued, I discovered that this was not the case at all.

"Finally one day, about two years after we got started, Philip and I were driving down a dirt track towards the house and our car was surrounded by Maasai warriors called Moran... and they were fully suited with their spears and clubs and everything.”

The male warriors had demanded Katy to reopen the worksites for the women, but Katy refused to do so. When the men questioned her response, she explained that since the men continued to harass the women she would not be a part of that. After Katy refused once more, the warriors admitted they realized how much the women’s’ income was changing their communities.

"We understand now that they are paying school fees. We understand they are paying medical fees, they are buying food, they are clothing the children; therefore, we no longer have to sell the cattle, so we are getting wealthier - the wealth of the entire family is improving as a result of our women having work. So we really want you to open the worksites."

Maasai women who work with The Leakey Collection
 beading jewelry for the Collection.

Realizing that she could not change their minds on the case, Katy decided to get rid of the men by saying she would comply on one seemingly impossible condition.

“You must walk the lengths and widths of the Rift Valley and get all the Moran warriors to agree that they will no longer hassle the women and then come back… And we thought we'd never see them again."

Thinking that she had successfully deterred the warriors from trying to get the worksites, Katy didn’t give the subject another thought. However, she was in for quite a surprise.

"We were so shocked... 10 days later the same group of young men walked up to our place and said, “Okay we've done it."

Katy didn’t have any other choice but to open up the worksites again, as was requested by the Moran warriors. Fortunately, the men seemed to have learned their lessons about discouraging the women from working.

"…And from that day forward we haven’t had a problem."

Nowadays, conditions are really improving for the women in Kenya thanks to the Leaky Collection. Not only is there less domestic violence in the families but also men now even prefer to marry women who have jobs.  As Katy herself even said:

“It's been fantastic.”

Hey guys - my name is Jessica. Interviewing Katy Leakey and writing this blog have both been new experiences for me, so I'm excited to see how it's all come together! Thank you - and I hope you guys enjoy reading my article!


Up Next: Part three of our interview with Katy discussing the Leakey Collection's newest addition, Marula Oil.