Happy International Women's Day 2022! This year we wanted to tell you about a recent collaboration that is very close to our hearts with the Love Is Project, #breakthebias
We teamed together to make recycled flip flop bracelets and they are truly gorgeous!
Ocean Sole and the Love Is Project are both female-owned organizations that share the same views on;
- empowering women through employment and education,
- challenging inequalities,
- celebrating every achievement,
- developing skills,
- supporting women by supplying them with a steady and equal income
Each of the recycled flip flop bracelets was meticulously hand-made by our women artisans in our workshop in Nairobi.
The women work together in their own special room of the workshop where they tinker away, making art and jewellery from recycled flip flops. I always love spending time in there with them, listening to their stories and bopping along to the music with them.
You can always hear their room before you see it because of the levels of laughter that radiate from it!
This year, we wanted to highlight one particular lady who worked on the Love Is Project - Florence Auma.
Florence has been working as an artist at Ocean Sole for just over ten years now. Before working at Ocean Sole, she was a traditional dancer!
In her free time, she loves to do beadwork (which meant she absolutely loved working on this collaboration) and decorating for her home. She enjoys being able to express her artistic flair through her sculpting and carving.
Florence says that one of her favorite things about working at Ocean Sole is that her sculptures have managed to reach such a wide audience worldwide! Florence has traveled to Zanzibar, Singapore, and Kuwait with Ocean Sole for exhibitions.
Her family is originally from Kisumu, but now she lives in Kiserian with her two sons and daughters. Sadly, her father passed away in 2000, so she is also the sole provider for her brothers and sisters who remain in Kisumu.
Florence, like all of our other female employees, is the backbone of Ocean Sole and makes us who we are. Thank you Florence and thank you, everyone!
About the Love Is Project:
Love Is Project creates jobs for more than 2,000 female artisans in ten countries, supporting families, their children's school fees, and invests monetary proceeds toward various impact projects.
They give agency to their artisans to empower themselves.
In addition, Love Is Project donates % of profits to non-profit organizations. Each handmade bracelet is inspired by the culture and the craftsmanship of each country.
Celebrate diversity and share what LOVE means to you. After all, LOVE connects us all!
Spread LOVE with their collection of artisan-made LOVE bracelets from around the world. Each bracelet serves as a reminder to LOVE and be loved. It's the perfect gift that gives back and fits every lifestyle.
Imagine a gender-equal world.
A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
A world where difference is valued and celebrated.
Together we can forge women's equality.
Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.
Happy International Women's Day.
