If you’re interested in hearing wildlife conservation success stories in Africa or are preparing to visit Zambia on safari, then this will make a fascinating read. Here is their story. Prepare to be inspired.
About Mulberry Mongoose and its Mission in South Luangwa National Park
Kate and Clera, can you tell us about Mulberry Mongoose and the purpose behind it?
Mulberry Mongoose employs rural Zambians to handcraft award-winning jewellery using upcycled poachers’ snare traps and local materials. Our workshop is located on a well-worn elephant path in the South Luangwa, Zambia. Our team of 11 artisans – 7 of them women – are on a mission to demonstrate their ingenuity and skill by creating beautiful jewellery that celebrates the African bush while reinvesting back into our wildlife and community.
Every sale funds anti-snare patrols, helping us remove to date over 42,000 traps and donating $164,500 to conservation efforts. We also source over 300,000 local beads annually, which supports the income of over 300 rural Africans.
Snare poaching is one of the biggest threats to African wildlife. How does Mulberry Mongoose tackle this issue, and what role do your designs play in creating awareness?
We play an interesting role in this challenging story: we turn deadly traps into something positive.
By repurposing snares into jewellery, we raise awareness about poaching and the bravery of rangers who risk their lives to protect wildlife. People always ask where the jewellery they like comes from, leading to a powerful conversation about the struggles of Africa and what we need to do to help. By wearing Mulberry Mongoose and sharing the story that each piece carries, our clients educate those around them, and it empowers wearers to be part of the solution.
Additionally, by removing the snare wire permanently, we prevent it from being stolen and reused, allowing rangers to focus on protecting animals instead of guarding confiscated traps.
The Creation Process
The jewellery you create transforms the snare wire into something beautiful. Could you explain the team members’ roles in the process?
Our team retrieves tangled snare wire from ranger-guarded containers, spending at least 4 to 5 hours cutting it into manageable strips. Back at our workshop, wires are sorted for different designs – some for coiling, others for hammering and bespoke designs.
Each artisan handcrafts beads using two methods: coiling, where the wire is wound manually and then sanded three times for smoothness, and hammering, where flat snare pieces are shaped on an anvil and then drilled, which requires great precision and skill.
What challenges does your team face in creating these unique pieces, and how do you overcome them?
Creating our jewellery is physically demanding, with snare wire often being difficult to bend or hammer into shape. To highlight the strength required, we invite clients to try the process for themselves!
Precision is equally challenging, as coiling neatly and drilling at the right point takes focus and patience. Every sharp edge must be carefully removed, as this is a piece that will be worn on someone’s skin! It’s also painstaking to create some of our pieces.
Some designs, like our Pangolin piece, are especially intricate, requiring precise alignment of small beads to mimic the animal’s scales. We’re also constantly innovating by refining our skills and designs to stay true to African craftsmanship while improving our work.
Empowering Communities and Wildlife Conservation
Mulberry Mongoose employs a local Zambian team and has donated over $164,000 to conservation efforts. Can you share the impact this has had on your community and the surrounding wildlife?
Our ongoing donations to conservation efforts have made a significant impact by helping rangers stay employed, which in turn protects iconic wildlife and supports our local community through ecotourism. To date, we’ve sold nearly 60,000 jewellery pieces, educating international clients about Africa’s conservation challenges.
Our compassionate clients learn about this big issue whilst adding value through conservation and telling people about how our team has an incredible ability to turn brutality into beauty.
As mentioned, we buy over 300,000 local beads each year to craft our jewellery into an authentic African design whilst ensuring we maximise investment back into our local community. When people can earn a living, they are not manipulated into poaching to survive.
Meaningful employment for our team also impacts the community, with training and empowerment at the centre of our vision. Our team are also invested emotionally. Rural Zambia is hard, and life and death hang in the balance. We have set up emergency medical services to get families to hospitals quickly and save lives.
We also have an interest-free microloan initiative to help our team invest in key areas such as building a house, improving farming or investing in their families’ education or health.
Clera, what does it mean for the team members, most of whom are women, to be part of Mulberry Mongoose?
Being an all Zambian team working here makes us proud. Mulberry Mongoose is a place of opportunities. We get to create unique jewellery using materials that are deeply rooted in our culture, protect our beautiful wildlife and secure the future of our children. All the while we get to grow in ourselves and show what we are capable of, which is so much more than we, and others in our community, realise.
The Guest Experience at Mulberry Mongoose’s Workshop
Clera, you pioneered the jewellery-making class for guests. What can guests expect when they visit Mulberry Mongoose?
You receive a warm welcome and a workshop tour, learning about our creative conservation story. Then try coiling a snare bead before settling on our veranda with refreshments to design your jewellery from a beautiful selection of beads.
We guide you through sizing, designing, and finishing your pieces, answering questions about jewellery making, our way of life, and the history of Mulberry Mongoose. Once complete, we help you to package the jewellery in locally made gift bags.
A highlight of the experience is chatting with our team about rural Zambian life whilst observing village life pass by. You’ll also love creating your own special memories of Zambia.
Making a Difference on your Zambia Safari
What one key message would you like guests to carry home with them after their visit?
That tourism done right involving exposure to rural African businesses like ours has powerful, positive consequences. Tourists are making an enormous difference through their curiosity, interest and support.
Future Vision for Mulberry Mongoose
What’s next for Mulberry Mongoose? Can you reveal plans for new projects or designs in development that you’re particularly excited about?
We are expanding our local supplier network programme to involve interest-free loans, training initiatives and networking to increase our impact in our rural African community. We also have a management training scheme starting, which aims to help us employ more women at the junior management level and to provide intensive training in professional skills.
In terms of the jewellery, we are expanding our design vision to include stand-out fashion pieces that represent our story, and expanding our bespoke service to offer unique pieces hand-stamped in-store.
Experience Mulberry Mongoose as part of your extraordinary Zambian safari.
South Luangwa is one of Africa’s most authentic safari destinations, renowned for its untouched wilderness, winding rivers, and remarkable wildlife, from endemic species to leopards and vast herds of elephants. Visiting this stunning region offers an unforgettable glimpse into Zambia’s natural beauty.
Conveniently located between the International Airport and the South Luangwa National Park gate, Mulberry Mongoose offers an ideal stop between game drives. A visit to Mulberry Mongoose provides a memorable slice of Zambia’s rich culture whilst participating in a cause that offers a wonderful way to support the future of this beautiful country.
Our expertly-curated Zambian journey “Africa: Heart and Sole” can be tailored to include a visit to Mulberry Mongoose as part of your private walking safari in South Luangwa. Get in touch with our Africa specialists to discuss your personalised Zambian safari.