My journey to Kenya with Whole Foods Market.

1. A canadian in kenya.
More specifically, travelling to kenya with Whole
Foods Market to meet amazing people doing amazing
things in an amazing place.

2. My name is Lindsay
and I LOVE working
at Whole Foods
Market.
A LOT.

3. It’s not just the
people, the food, or
the cool things we
get to do.

4. Whole Foods Market also has some incredibly
important initiatives and projects.
One of them being Whole Planet Foundation.

5. Very simply put, Whole
Planet Foundation
provides microcredit
loans to Microfinance
Institutions around the
globe in countries where
whole foods market
sources products.
You might be familiar with
the organization because
all the stores do a big
fundraiser for it every
year.

6. Whole Planet Foundation Quick Facts:
• Microcredit are small loans - usually less than
$300 in the developing world
• 100% of money donated goes directly to
microcredit loans (Whole Foods Market pays all
administrative costs)
• WPF provides grants to microcredit loan
organizations around the world
• 89% of microcredit clients whose loans WPF fundS
are women, and the repayment rate to the
microcredit institutions is currently 96%

7. I know what you’re thinking…
What does this have to do with kenya?!?

8. Whole Foods Market has a program where team
members can apply to volunteer in a country
where Whole Planet Foundation dollars are put
to work and where some unique partnerships
are making a big difference.
Accepted Team Members fundraise for the cost
of their flight and Whole Foods Market Pays the
rest.
Team members get the experience of a lifetime
and come back to share how shopping dollars
are making a difference in the world.

9. That is how a Whole Foods Market-loving
canuck ended up in Kenya, discovering more
than she ever thought she would.

10. Here are three organizations you need to know
about:
1. One acre fund
2. Ol pejeta Conservancy
3. Ctc international
If you’ve never heard of them, don’t worry,
Imma fill you in.

11. Our first stop as a group after arriving in nairobi
was to drive 6 hours on some very bumpy roads to
webuye to see one of the regular meetings one acre
fund had with a group of farmers.

12. one acre fund is an
organization that
has received
donations
through whole
planet foundation.

13. one acre fund provides microcredit loans to local
farmers. For every 8 FARMERS or less there is a group
leader.
With these microcredit loans farmers receive…

14. …Regular trainings
on the latest
farming techniques…
… repayment
support…
…and incentives such as
farming equipment for early
repayment.

15. During the meeting we heard farmers tell us how the
One Acre fund had changed their lives.
They now had enough food to eat and support their
families with.

16. The anger that filled their communities had
disappeared.
They sang a welcome song for us and danced as we
left.

17. It was a pretty profound experience, that we all
agreed was surreal.
These people had faced such hardship and had jumped
on the first opportunity to improve their lives and
were now thriving.

18. I think we realized
for the first time
that microcredit
loans was a new
type of ‘giving’.
It’s not about
charity.
it’s about
empowerment and
partnerships.

19. We were pretty spoiled to be able to take a sarari
at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. And I know most of
us were expecting to see this:

20. But it was better.

21. The 90,000 acre conservancy is where some of
the most bad-a#$ animals in the kingdom live.
Including lions, elephants, zebras, rhinos,
cheetahs, warthogs, chimps, and giraffes.

22. We visited the OL PEJETA
chimp sanctuary
which was founded by
Jane goodall.
We saw SOME chimps
that used to be pets
now living in a large
sanctuary and
discovered the
different threats these
endangered species
face.

23. The rhino conservancy is an
inspiring place in ol pejeta
where workers are
committed to increasing
rhino population numbers
and protecting them from
poachers.

24. This is me feeding barak, a blind rhino.
Hard work, but someone had to do it!

25. So what does this have to do with this?
The answer is this.

26. The 5 fingers represents the 5 areas that they
are working on developing:
• Education
• Environment
• Economy
• Health
• Community

27. Ctc international is based Austin Texas and
works in maai mahiu kenya where:
• 80% of youth do not make it past the 8th
grade
• Less than 1% of citizens make it to university
• As of 2011 Kenya’s unemployment rate was 40%

28. Ruby Ruth runs the education department of
ctc and was The Whole Foods Market Team’s
host extraordinaire from ctc international.

29. Ruby took us on a walk through her
neighborhood in Maai Mahiu where ctc has
implemented a waste removal system.
She talked about how much of a difference ctc
has made in the streets of where she lives.

30. Ruby walked us to the ctc
headquarters where we visited
children living with disabilities
who were receiving daily care &
education. For almost of all
them it was an opportunity that
they had never had before.
Allowing their
mothers to work
outside the home and
support the family.

31. Nearby are the L.I.F.E. Line studios where
products are made by the ‘Malaika mums’.
It started as 9 moms of children with special
needs making change purses and other items to
earn an income for their family.
We met over 40 women working on the latest
order of products to be sold in whole foods
market soon!

32. Josephine
holding up her
latest project.
Some proceeds
of this bag
benefit the ol
pejeta
conservancy!

33. L.I.F.E. LINE (Livelihood, Invest, Future, Empower)
provides income for the Malaika mums, supports ctc
international, and helps build the local economy in
maai mahiu.

34. Ctc international continues to help its community
grow with the opening of its new café ubuntu. The café
was built with money raised by whole foods market
through a 5% Day.
It sits on 9 acres where the ctc offices will eventually
be. Surrounded by farm land, the café, and even a soccer
field for local youth to play.

35. The café will support ctc from proceeds from
coffee sales to both tourists and locals.
We got to try the very first espresso from their
new machine donated by whole foods market.

36. The whole foods market
team got to work painting
the new café, planting some
trees, and building benches.

37. Team Members came from
whole foods market all
over north america to
work as a team at ctc’s
new café.
Strangers at the
beginning of the trip
were close friends by
the end.
Promising to support
ctc well after we
returned home.

38. One of the last things we
got to do was visit more
Masai women who made
gorgeous beaded barcelets &
jewelry which is sold by
l.i.f.e. line and can be bought
at whole foods market
stores.

39. Now it’s your turn! How you can help:
• Purchase l.i.f.e. line products
• Donate to whole planet foundation
• Visit www.ctcinternational.org
• Visit www.oneacrefund.org
• Visit. www.olpejetaconservancy.org