Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life 2007 Innovative Techniques in Peace Building
Paula Daeppen FAWCO UN Liaison
It is with great pleasure that FAWCO has nominated Mercy Kiyapyap of West Pokot, Kenya for the 2007 Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life. This is a prize sponsored by the Women’s World Summit Foundation to honor creative and courageous women working in rural communities around the world.
Mercy is a trained social worker and eco-trainer and assistant project director for BioVision’s “Cabesi project” which stands for Camels - Bees – Silk in the west Pokot district of Kenya. West Pokot is one of the driest and the poorest areas of Kenya. This is an area where 90% of the population is illiterate; where women have few rights; where FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is common; and where girls are often forced into marriage at 11 or 12 years (the younger the girl, the higher the bride price); where polygamy is the norm and a leader is a man who has many wives – because to manage lots of women was proof of a man being a good leader.
The Cabesi project area covers 9000 km2 with over 3000 people benefiting from this self help project. Currently Mercy is responsible for the training of a 1000 farmers, mostly women, in bee-keeping. Besides an emphasis on raising bees and wild silk worms, through the Cabesi project, Mercy encourages the keeping and use of camels in place of less drought tolerant cattle. She is also establishing women’s cooperatives and promotes the education of girls and women, advocates for women’s rights in general and the elimination of the practice of female genital mutilation and the forced marriages of girls.
Mercy has broken with the traditional women’s role for her area and is looked upon as a leader of both men and women. She has earned the respect of the people with her hard work. She arranged to have the primary school renovated and today the children of the previously rivaling tribes of the Pokot and Marakwet attend this school together.
Mercy is actively involved in innovative methods of peace building between the rival tribes in the area. As co-initiator of the west Pokot Peace Festival, she found a way to combine camels and beauty queens as a means to empower women and encourage peace. Using this festival to bring together the neighboring and often warring tribes of the Turkana, Samburu, Pokot and Marakwet, a pageant was organized that included 40 competitors from the various tribes in a friendly celebration of their women. The winning peace queen’s prize was a female camel with her foal. For the winner, a young 17 year old woman, this was the first time that she has ever had the opportunity to own anything. The mare will produce more than enough milk for the family and will be the basis for further breeding, but more importantly Mercy says “this is an unmistakable sign of the empowerment of the oppressed women of west Pokot”.
This nomination is an acknowledgement of Mercy’s exceptional, courage, dedication and creativity in promoting the rights of women and a validation of her efforts in trying to bring the people of west Pokot out of poverty.