I am a born again Christian missionary and a businessman living in Mombasa. I am married and i have three children. I run a small handicrafts business as well as a timber yard on the outskirts of Mombasa city. I started the business to uplift my family's economic status and also to help many orphans and destitute children in the community through profits as part of my social responsibility as a missionary.

I buy handmade wooden,stone, leather products made by local artisans in Mombasa and the entire coast regions for resale. This has enabled many of these poor village folk to earn a descent living from sale of their products.

I run a small handicrafts business. The products that i sell include wooden, stone, leather products that are made by village artisans in the community here in Mombasa and surrounding areas. I have also engaged the services of experienced carvers from the community to make special high priced carvings. I fund my business from my own personal savings but we have challenges meetings customers orders as we don't have enough materials to make products.

We have many orders of handicrafts from Japan, USA, South Africa and Switzerland. My business promotes sustainable Kenyan woodcarvings as well by encouraging the use of farm-grown trees instead of threatened hardwoods for carving, thereby securing carvers’ livelihoods and providing a new income source for many poor rural villagers. Woodcarvings made from Neem (locally known as “Mwarubaini”) rather than over-harvested hardwoods, such as ebony, can now carry the FSC logo, giving consumers peace of mind that the carvings have not contributed to the destruction of the forests of Kenya.

The certification is also unusual in that it certifies wood from small farms for the production of carvings by Kenyan craftsmen, instead of the most common FSC certifications of large-scale, commercial timber production to supply the timber trade and well-known do-it-yourself stores. We contribute to conservation of threatened Kenyan forests and help to improve livelihoods for poor farmers in Kenya by offering free tree seedlings.

The business is profitable since. I used my first Zidisha loan to buy my handcrafts stock from the local villages. I invested the profit into my business and now I have expanded it and employed two orphans who finished their high school and have not got admission into college. I have enrolled them for evening classes in accounting.

I will use this Zidisha loan to buy more stock of handmade arts and crafts from the villages for sale at a profit and uplift their economic status. I intend to use part of the profit to establish a daycare orphan feeding center in the village as part of my social responsibility in giving back to the community.

I run a small handicrafts business. The products that i sell include wooden and stone carvings as well as leather products that are made by village artisans in the community here in Mombasa and surrounding areas. I have also engaged the services of experienced carvers from the community to make special high priced carvings. I fund my business from my own personal savings but we have challenges meetings customers orders as we don't have enough materials to make products.

We used our first Zidisha loan of $150 to busy stock and now we have many orders of handicrafts from Japan, USA, South Africa and Switzerland. My business promotes sustainable Kenyan woodcarvings as well by encouraging the use of farm-grown trees instead of threatened hardwoods for carving, thereby securing carvers’ livelihoods and providing a new income source for many poor rural villagers.

Woodcarvings made from Neem (locally known as “Mwarubaini”) rather than over-harvested hardwoods, such as ebony, can now carry the FSC logo, giving consumers peace of mind that the carvings have not contributed to the destruction of the forests of Kenya.

The certification is also unusual in that it certifies wood from small farms for the production of carvings by Kenyan craftsmen, instead of the most common FSC certifications of large-scale, commercial timber production to supply the timber trade and well-known do-it-yourself stores. We contribute to conservation of threatened Kenyan forests and help to improve livelihoods for poor farmers in Kenya by offering free tree seedlings.

My business is profitable as buy my handcrafts stock from the local villages from as low as US$16 - US$80 and i sell at US$30- US$150 depending on each item .I get a profit of US$500 every month. I invested the profit into my business and now I have expanded it and employed two orphans who finished their high school and have not got admission into college. I have enrolled them for evening classes in accounting.

I will use this Zidisha loan to buy more stock of handmade arts and crafts from the villagers for sale at a profit and uplift their economic status. I intend to use part of the profit to establish a daycare orphan feeding center in the village as part of my social responsibility in giving back to the community. I will be grateful to Zidisha lenders for giving me a hand once again.I promise to invest wisely and repay my loan promptly.