How Oxfam/AWEIK trainings transformed my mining business; Holiness Mwadime

My gemstone mining journey began way back in 2015, in Mwatate, Taita Taveta County (Kenya). We stayed there for one year, trying to mine for gemstones, but for the whole period, we didn’t find anything. In 2016, the Association of Women in Energy and Extractives in Kenya (AWEIK), an organization championing women’s economic development in the extractive sector, came to Taita Taveta. They wanted to find out about the challenges we were facing in our day-to-day mining activities and seek ways to support us.

They then organized and conducted trainings for us, as part of their support programs; and I was one of the project participants selected for the sessions

Through the trainings, we were empowered with information on sustainability, and alternative sources of livelihood apart from just mining.

“Being in this sector has really changed my life. Initially, I thought mining was just an act of digging, but now, I see it as a business and a value chain I can earn from.”

“Besides just mining for gemstones, I can also buy and sell gemstones from colleagues.”

“Through the training at the Voi Gemstone Center, I have learnt that gemstones that are viewed as commercially unviable or lowly valued, can be sold through value addition to them. The mining laws preceding the Mining Act 2016 did not recognize women, youth, and artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM). However, the Mining Act 2016 acknowledged us and gave us the opportunity to get into mining – a significant contribution to the gemstone value chain. In the past we used to mine gemstones and the little you got you sold at a throwaway price because life was a struggle and to get food was a challenge. But now with alternative ways of survival, I know I can store my gemstones and wait for market days where I can sell them at the right price, unlike in the past.

I look forward to more future learning and growth in the gemstone value chain through AWEIK under the FAIR for ALL program.