Beats Of Beads Trust – 2025 Annual report
Our second year of activities has flown by, and I can note with satisfaction two essential points:
First – we have finally reached “cruising level” – the compound is operating in an optimal manner.
Second – We are now managing to sustain Beats Of Beads without external funding.
Staff of the compound: Currently includes 6 salaried employees: a night guard, a gardener/day laborer,
three guides, and a computer teacher.
What did we do this year
Museum - This year we had approximately 630 paying visitors in the museum (an increase of 50% compared to the previous year), in addition to many hundreds of non-paying visitors – Kenyans and school students.
Activities during the year:
January – We received a donation of 6 used computers from UNHCR.
February – We planted trees throughout Sekenani.
March – Ms. Barb Hardman from Catalyste+ conducted a workshop for the
Maasai women on good governance and leadership.
April
🔹Artist Dorit Weissman taught new beading techniques.
🔹Dr. Baari conducted oral hygiene training – both at our compound
and by visiting surrounding villages near Sekenani.
🔹We started building a lovely computer classroom. The construction was
carried out by a constructor together with the Maasai women –
another way to provide them both income and a sense of belonging.
May - Construction of the computer classroom continued.
🔹We hosted several times the SHA team (government health insurance), who came to register Sekenani residents.
June – Artist Linda Whelihan led a workshop creating greeting cards from paper cuttings.
July – The first computer skills course was launched.
August & September – We built sliding doors for the shop, which until then had been open and unprotected, and enclosed the women’s basket storage area. We also added solar-powered lighting throughout the compound.
October – Our organization was invited as guests of honor to the festive opening of a new community organization in Kilgoris, western Maasailand. I traveled together with Mercy, one of our guides, and as a successful and influential organization, we received an enthusiastic welcome. We planted a tree and spoke with local women about ways to improve their livelihoods. We undoubtedly felt proud.
November –
🔹We replaced the flooring in the guest rooms from concrete to ceramic tiles.
🔹Dr. Baari arrived for another ten days and conducted oral hygiene training – both at our compound and in surrounding villages.
🔹We coordinated and hosted a meeting between Engineers Without Borders (Israel), and the principal of the Sekenani girls secondary school escorted by community leaders, to discuss potential development and cooperation between the school and the organization.
Our work With the Maasai women
We registered about 200 women who earn a living from selling bead-works. The compound is open to all of them, but on a typical day up to 50 women are present. Some of them arrive at first light in the morning and stay until sunset – coming and going freely. We provide the bead-work materials, teach new bead-work techniques, and during the low season, when tourist traffic is minimal, the women receive a beading work from us. At the end of the day, they are paid for their
work, and we display the items - mostly jewelry - in the museum shop.
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Computer teaching Courses
Starting in July, we hired a teacher and launched a basic computer
course. At present, the courses do not yet fund themselves, and
we subsidize the teacher. The course lasts one month (three hours a day).
By the end, students gain knowledge of the Microsoft Office package
(Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.), as well as internet use, social networks,
and email. A certificate is awarded upon completion.
Existing Projects
Guest rooms: Operating and receiving great reviews.
Cafeteria: Still not fully realizing its potential this year. It serves occasional visitors, but mainly the guests staying in the rooms.
Shop: The variety of beaded items continues to grow – some are original and exclusive to us – all produced by Maasai women.
Nursery: The nursery is thriving and gives me particular joy. Thanks to it, we planted tree seedlings throughout Sekenani.
Finances
We have become an organization that is not dependent on external sources for its existence. Still, we were happy to receive donations from visitors to the compound.
2025 Bank opening balance: 1,144,247.95 KES.
🔹Donations received during the year: 435,000 KES, which helped us to build the computer room.
🔹Debts repaid from the construction period: 762,600 KES (approx. $5,866).
Bank closing balance: 1,610,195.95 KES.
Looking ahead- 2026 goals
First, I am proud that we met the goals we set for ourselves last year: employing an additional guide and building a computer room.
Next year, in response to the women’s request, we plan to hire an English teacher for the Maasai women.
I thank Agnes for her never-ending support, and the advisory board – for the encouragement and support of the project.
Eti
