Andrea's Blog

When my fashion blogger friend Anna Sabino invites me to an event, I don’t always know what to expect, but I know that it will be good. Last week it was a reception for Pikolinos – the Spanish shoe brand – to showcase their Maasaii CSR initiative and to celebrate their nomination as a finalist for the WGSN Global Fashion Awards’ Most Sustainable Brand or Retailer award.

Pikolino’s Maasai Collection is a line of Spanish leather shoes with gorgeous beadwork hand-stitched by women from the Maasai tribe in Kenya.  Here are some reasons to love this brand:

• The women from the Massai community are able to earn a salary for the first time in their lives. Funneling more money toward women has a multiplier effect. Compared to her husband, she is more likely to share the benefits with the world around her, creating a better life for her family and building a strong  community.
• The CSR program enabled a school for 400 children to be built, in collaboration with the Association for Development, Alternative Trade and Micro-credits (ADCAM)
• 1,400 Maasai families have received a stable source of income, enabling them to purchase food, clothing and healthcare.
• The Maasai culture and semi-nomadic way of life is further preserved. This is critical since in 2007, the United Nation listed the Maasai as one of the 31 most threatened tribes on the planet.
• And of course, the shoes are unique and lovely!

Click here to find where you can buy a  pair of Maasai-designed Pikolinos.

With the support of the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pikolinos’s reception included delicious Spanish food and a video for the press which played on the building next door.

Pikolino's Maasai Collection is a line of Spanish leather shoes with gorgeous beadwork hand-stitched by women from the Maasai tribe in Kenya.

William Kikanae Ole Pere, Maasai warrior leader and Adcam Director, respresented his tribe at the reception.

Pikolinos' Masai program reminded me of my own encounter with Maasai women in 2008, while on a walking safari in Kenya.