New ! Conservation Collection

It is with great excitement that I share WWW's latest project with you, the CONSERVATION COLLECTION. It is a wonderful tribute to have been asked by Diana Maclean to be the U.S. partner. As you know, Ewaso Lions and the Grevy’s Zebra Trust are two very special long-time projects focused on women and conservation of endangered species so this is another way in which to show your support. The bags are stunning! A must have either for yourself or to give as a present. Wearing one brings you closer to these inspiring women and the magnificent Grevy’s and lions and the magic of Africa.

Help conserve lions and the world's most endangered zebra while supporting Samburu women who are working to develop income alternatives for their families and their communities in Kenya. 100% net profit goes directly to the Grevy’s Zebra Trust and the Ewaso Lions.

CONSERVATION COLLECTION

The GREVY'S ZEBRA TRUST is the only organization in the world with a mission focused solely on conserving the endangered Grevy’s zebra. Recognizing that the survival of the Grevy’s zebra depends on its ability to coexist with people living in Northern Kenya, GZT drives change by ensuring communities are at the center of designing conservation solutions.

EWASO LIONS is dedicated to conserving lions and other large carnivores by promoting coexistence between people and wildlife. They are an independent 100% African wildlife conservation organization based in northern Kenya which engages and builds the capacity of key demographic groups (warriors, women, and children) by developing approaches to reduce human-carnivore conflict. We conduct applied research and educational initiatives, working with our communities to address ecological problems.

The Conservation Collection is an exclusive collaboration between WILD at HEART Kenya that supports women and conservation, and Singer Rankin, president of WorldWomenWork. The leather is locally and ethically sourced for every Conservation Collection bag and each patterned, beaded disc is handmade by Samburu women artisans who work with Grevy’s Zebra Trust and Ewaso Lions.

See all products here: Conservation Collection.

Ewaso Lions - Kura's Pride is helping to spread awareness on dog welfare and vaccinations.

Restoring the Northern Great Plains “One Square Foot” at a Time

(WWF Repost)

The United States has lost 33 million acres of grassland and wildflower habitats in the US Great Plains since 2009. Grasslands in this region have been plowed-up at an average rate of four football fields per minute, prioritizing row-crop agriculture over the preservation of wildlife. Thanks to a new three-year partnership with Botanica by Air Wick, Air Wick® Scented Oils and a project known as “One Square Foot,” WWF will be reseeding 1 billion square feet of disturbed grasslands and wildflower habitats in the Northern Great Plains. This project will provide food and shelter for pollinators, grassland birds, and the many other species that are native to the region.

As Laura and I mention, you can help by reseeding your own ‘One Square Foot’ right in your own backyard. Even a single square foot can provide food for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Whenever possible, plant wildflowers that are native to your part of the world, and try to choose a mix of plants that bloom throughout the season. Get started with our list of plants and their native regions in the US, or if you're unable to plant flowers, spread the word on Facebook or Twitter using #plantwildflowers.

We want to ensure our virtual events bring you closer to the conservation successes you make possible, so please also take a few moments to share your feedback on the event through this brief survey.

You can access the full event recording on the WWF website. Feel free to also send the link on to family and friends who share your passion for conservation!

Watch the recording ►

Thank you for all that you do to protect the future of nature.

WWW Women's History Month

In March, Women’s History Month celebrates the vital role of women in today’s world. Here at WWW, we have featured two individual lives who have positively impacted so many through their wildlife conservation work.  As women role models in their respective countries of Thailand and Kenya, they continue to make powerful contributions in their community.

Lek Chailert

During her childhood in a small hill tribe village near Chiang Mai, Thailand, Lek Chailert helped her grandfather with sick and injured animals.  At this young age, she loved all kinds of animals -and especially the elephant.   

At the age of 16, she came upon elephants doing hard labor at a logging operation in the mountains.  Upon seeing this, it awakened her resolve to fight to create a better world for them.  Ever since then, Lek began advocating for positive change for the Asian elephant, its welfare and protection. ( In Thailand, the Asian elephant is the national symbol and first became listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act ( ESA) in 1976. The Asian elephant is still classified as endangered today ).  Lek founded Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for more than 35 elephants that have been saved from tourist and illegal logging industries and countless other animals such as rescued pigs, cows, birds, cats, dogs, etc.  Also Save Elephant Foundation is her Thai non-profit dedicated to providing care and assistance to Asian elephants through a multi-faceted approach that includes community outreach, rescue & rehab programs and educational ecotourism ( see our “Projects” link ).  Through the years Lek has won numerous awards for her work and dedication to the Asian elephant and other animal rights causes. In June 2020, she and a large group of people went to the Thai Parliament and presented over 64,000 signatures to the government, requesting protection by law for the Thai elephant.  In a recent interview, Lek said of the Asian elephant,  “They are the color of the planet, they are beautiful.  If we want to protect them, we have to do it right now.” 

Munteli Lalparsaroi

Munteli is a coordinator of the “Mama Simba” of Ewaso Lions.  ( Ewaso Lions in northern Kenya conserves lions and other large carnivores by promoting coexistence between people and wildlife.  The lion population in Kenya now numbers less than 2,000, having declined by nearly 50% in the past few decades.  African lions could become extinct within the next 20 years if the current trend continues ). 

Typically women in Samburu society run the household and do not participate in decision-making at the community level.  They are in charge of the firewood, getting water, tending to the livestock, etc.  As they manage these natural resources, they often come into contact with the wildlife.  Munteli was very eager to get involved in conservation and along with her friend, Mparasaroi, they approached Ewaso Lions asking for training and education.  This led to the creation of the “Mama Simba” Program.  This program empowers women in all aspects of their lives.  Mama Simba ladies can now not only speak up for lions; they are provided with the knowledge and skills they need to reduce their environmental impact, improve livelihoods, and help conserve and coexist with wildlife.

As a major force behind the Mama Simba (mother of lions) program, Munteli works to empower and connect the Samburu women in the cause of conservation.  She now trains and mentors the Mama Simba ladies and every Saturday they gather at the local school to learn how to read and write.  Munteli also supports the management team in the development of the Mama Simba program re: conservation workshops, wildlife safaris, the beadwork enterprise, a recycling program, etc. ( see our “Projects” link ).

Two ladies who lived in a village 45 km away, called Munteli one day and said they had heard of a Samburu woman with beads who drives.  They couldn’t believe that a traditional Samburu woman was driving, in addition to saving lions! so they hired a lorry to bring them to meet her.  With her pioneering spirit, Munteli had learned how to drive a car on an air strip in Samburu with lessons from Shivani ( Munteli is the first Samburu woman ever to drive a car ). 

She continues to trailblaze new and exciting projects for the Mama Simba this year while advancing the conservation message in Samburu.

"Explorers At Work - Shivani Bhalla"

SHIVANI BHALLA from EWASO LIONS

“A conservation biologist works to safeguard the future of Kenya’s rapidly declining lion population.”

Preventing Pandemics

WWF just conducted a fascinating presentation on Preventing Pandemics which I want to share with you. Basically if we don't stop destroying nature, killing and consuming animals, we will have even more lethal pandemics.

I want to thank Annika Terrana, Manager, Forests, WWF-US, who provided this for WWW.

I hope you find this information here as fascinating and informative as I have. Your support of WWW ensures in so many ways, that you are doing your part to help save the wild world, people and animals from continued destruction. Again, thank you for your incredible support. We need it desperately!

WWF National Council Briefing

PREVENTING PANDEMICS

Rebalancing our relationship with nature sits at the heart of a sustainable global recovery from the impact of COVID-19. WWF engaged in a strategy “deep-think” to better understand the system dynamics that give rise to the spillover of animal disease into human populations and the role conservation could play in reducing the risk of spillover in the future. The risk of a spillover is increasing with our increasing intrusion into tropical and sub-tropical forests and, because of this, conservation has a role to play in reducing the risk. In response to this, WWF developed a conceptual framework based on our global systems understanding with a regional focus. The result is a map of the “zoonoses system” loops that has helped define the range of conservation actions needed to truly prevent pandemics rather than continually chasing recovery. The systems map is driven by interlocking cycles of growth and demand and illustrates how the existing zoonoses system involves a cascade of negative impacts that in turn exacerbate the drivers all over again. Using this map, bottlenecks can be defined along with key pressure points and a range of conservation solutions that should be considered in any robust strategy to prevent outbreaks.

Amplifying Risk In Value Chains

WWF created a visual of Amplified Risk for zoonoses in Value Chains, seen in the image above. The value chain involved in the intrusion into habitats and interactions with mostly live wild animals spans regions and continents and creates new and different mixes of species, including pathogens, as both live wild and domestic animals are raised, caged, transported, sold, slaughtered, and eaten together. These novel interactions result in a series of social-ecological conditions that are highly favorable for the emergence of new zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19. Downstream in the risk of value chains (on the right side of the image above), there is higher leverage because there is inherently direct risk for spillover. The potential spread of spillover increases as we move downstream, as viruses mutate, viral loading increases, and people become much more connected. At the same time, spillover becomes harder to prevent and the outbreaks more costly to control—keeping forests intact in areas of high biodiversity can stop spillover before it ever occurs, reducing risk all across the board. WWF applied this model to all geographies to identify the nodes of most impact along this value chain, depending on local rates of forest loss, farming practices and interactions with wildlife.

There is an opportunity for transformative change, recognizing that periods of great uncertainty often offer windows of opportunity to radically transform the system behaviors, structures, and underlying norms and values that govern our global society. While there is more research needed, the link to environmental degradation is clear. COVID-19 is unlikely to be “Disease X” or “the big one” that scientists have been warning about for years. We should expect more outbreaks to come. But the good news is that there are solutions already taking place that can have the co-benefit of reducing threats to disease if we are intentional about learning from this pandemic moving forward.

Ewaso Lions speaks out at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo

The Ewaso Lions traveled to the US to speak at the Wildlife Conservation Network in October. Their talk is powerful and moving, and it's now availble to watch online. From Ewaso Lions "It was an unprecedented moment for us - with our full team of four on stage, led by the indomitable Resson, which made for a powerful talk."

Luna and Save the Elephants

Save the Elephants has created this wonderful video that tells the story of an elephant called Luna. We hope it helps convey the importance of the work that Save the Elephants does, and why we are committed to supporting it. We hope that you will donate today to help us raise money for this amazing project!

“Luna is a 19 year old female matriarch who shares our home in Samburu National Park in northern Kenya. Luna was orphaned at age nine when she lost almost her entire family during the poaching epidemic. 
 
In 2013, Save the Elephants fitted Luna with a satellite-tracking collar to understand the strategies that orphaned elephants use to survive in the wild. Luna’s late mother Neptune was one of the first females collared and tracked by Save the Elephants more than 20 years ago, so it seemed fitting her daughter should follow in her steps. 
 
WHY TRACKING COLLARS?
 
Elephants are known to cross vast distances in a single day.

Satellite tracking collars give us real time data on elephant journeys. The weight of a collar on an elephant is the equivalent of a small pendant necklace around your neck. It doesn’t bother them, and it allows us to track them without getting in their way.

This technology and round the clock monitoring ensures Luna and all the other elephants in Northern Kenya have a long and safe future on our planet. 
 
It costs $10,000 to monitor and protect a single elephant. This includes the cost of purchase of the collar, deployment using bush planes, drugs for immobilisation and vet support, battery power for three years as well as the data and analysis.
 
To give you an idea of what can be achieved with your donation:

$3,000 will purchase an elephant monitoring collar

$1,000 can keep STE’s bush planes in the air for nearly 3 hours of aerial patrols

$600 will pay for a local ranger's salary for three months

$250 will pay for veterinary drugs used during a collaring mission

$100 will pay for a week's worth of internet at our research camp in Samburu” - Save the Elephants

Save the Date: Santa Fe Trunk Show with WorldWomenWork Shop

We are so excited to announce that we are having a trunk show in Santa Fe on December 15th. Join us for wine and champagne and a special holiday shopping event:

Sunday, Dec. 15th 1-6pm
212 E. Cordova Rd. Santa Fe

Shop WWW's unique collection of handmade goods from around the world, including home accessories, jewelry, bags and more.

Hope to see you and yours there!

WorldWomenWork Adventures: Thailand with Lek and Save Elephant Foundation

THAILAND with Lek and Save Elephant Foundation

January 28-February 10th 2020

On this once in a lifetime trip through the beautiful country of Thailand, we will tour Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. While in Chiang Mai, we will spend two days with Lek Chailert of Save Elephant Foundation at Elephant Nature Park. We will get to meet some of the elephants and learn about Lek’s work to save elephants from abuse. This is a small group tour and space is limited. Get in touch to inquire about pricing and availability.

Itinerary:

Tuesday Jan. 28 - The Great City of Angels, Welcome to Bangkok

Wednesday Jan. 29th - Bangkok multi-transport adventure

Thursday Jan. 30th - Morning liquid Bangkok headlights adventure

Friday Jan. 31st - Flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Saturday Feb. 1st - A day with Lek at Elephant Nature Park

Sunday Feb. 2nd - A day with Lek at Elephant Nature Park

Monday Feb. 3rd - Chiang Mai countryside walking, and Thai kitchen live dinner at Rim Tai Kitchen, the Four Seasons Chiang Mai

Tuesday Feb. 4th - Lamphun and Lampang temples and villages

Wednesday Feb. 5th - Lampang’s mountain top temple

Thursday Feb. 6th - Flight from Chiang Mai to Hanoi, and a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake

Friday Feb. 7th - Hanoi inside and out

Saturday Feb. 8th - Hanoi backstreets adventure by vintage minsk and water puppets

Sunday Feb. 9th - Transfer to Ha Long Bay for an overnight on Bhaya 7 cabin boat

Monday Feb. 10th - Back to Hanoi and onward