Story by KENNEDY SENELWA Publication Date: 1/23/2006
A community organisation is using the Internet to reach potential customers worldwide for footwear made from old tyres. Through the website www.ecosandals.com , Ecosandals.com is boosting sales of open shoes locally known as akala. It employs youths of Nairobi’s Korogocho slums. The name of the sandals varies with places in Kenya, patti, mbao, ogolla, laalo and aguambo.

The makers have travelled widely to market their product and for business training as well as to receive awards in the US, Europe and other parts of Africa. Ecosandals.com sells other products such as kikoy shawls and shirts, jeans, bags, necklaces and wristlets made by the Korogocho residents.

Imports and resells on-line – Set up in 1995, the firm also imports and resells on-line some products, and helps the slum-dwellers to earn an honest livelihood through hard work and creativity. The project coordinator, Ms Vivian Mwangi, told the Nation in an interview that Ecosandals.com’s main base is at Ann Arbor of Michigan, the US, and gives back all the sales proceeds to Korogocho’s Akala Designs, which distributes them to the residents.

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“The initial philosophy of the group was that if it did not contribute some product service of value to the economy, then it would not survive,” she said. Akala Designs is a cooperative society of the slum-dwellers. Everyone involved with Ecosandals.com is a volunteer who does not expect too much from it by way of financial gain.

Crime-prone neighbourhood – Working in a neighbourhood reputed to be among the most depraved and crime-prone in the city, the project uses electronic commerce, creativity and hard work to enable the community to find a new lease of life. The organisation has developed its product so that the sandals have in-soles and straps of either leather or denim, and are decorated with cowry shells and beads, and they are sold overseas in prestigious stores.

The 2001 launch of Ecosandals.com by Mr Matthew Meyer brought global attention to the sandal makers. The group has been recognised by the World Bank, the Youth Employment Summit, the Jefferson Awards committee and the Stockholm Technology Challenge for providing work in one of the most destitute areas.