What is an Ethical Business?

It's easy to call your business ethical. 

It's an over-used word, perhaps designed to entice the more discerning and thoughtful customer into parting with their money. Throw in this word and who is likely to investigate the company in real depth to find out whether it really is ethical? Who has the time to do this? 

The definition is a broad and vague one - it is simply any business which does good for a community or for a cause, such as the environment.

This is why it is relatively easy to claim to be ethical - but I can assure you that the word fundamentally applies to Manyatta. 

We commission people, based in and around the town of Ongata Rongai near Nairobi, to create belts & collars for us. The beauty of it is that it is something they all actively want to do; beading is crucial to the Maasai culture - it's likely it is what they would be doing anyway in the hope of selling. 

Our beaders work where THEY want to, often outside in the open and invariably in family or community groups - not in factories or sweatshops. Working conditions entirely suit the beaders and often they even receive payment prior to completion. 

A lot of organisations make the claim, but rest assured that here at Manyatta, your purchase is utterly ethical. Please feel free to reach out and talk to us about this, because we can back up our promise with proof. 

E: stuart.squire@manyatta.co