Consulting for the Leakey Collection Sushant Mukherjee, WG '09, Recounts his Team’s Experience in Kenya
Over winter break 2007, five Wharton MBA students -- Sushant Mukherjee, WG'09, James Hogarth, WG'09, Jennifer Akpapuna, WG'09, Kathy Park, WG'09, and Sachin Kaushik, WG'09 -- went to Kenya to meet with the clients for their Global Consulting Practicum project. Sushant Mukherjee describes his team’s trip.
We landed in Nairobi on Election Day. Arriving from locations as far-flung as Kathmandu, Minneapolis, London and New York, our Wharton MBA team came to Kenya to work with Philip and Katy Leakey on our Global Consulting Practicum project. Our task is to grow the U.S. sales of the Leakey Collection, thereby promoting its sustainability as a business and its ability to make an enduring impact on the lives of the Maasai.
The Leakey Collection is a rural social enterprise employing more than 1,000 Maasai women to make stylish contemporary jewelry from drought-resistant grass beads. For the Maasai, the enterprise provides a valuable alternative source of income while allowing them to retain their traditional pastoralist lifestyle.
Philip and Katy Leakey have a longstanding association with the Maasai. Philip's parents, Mary and Louis Leakey, are the world-renowned archaeologists whose discoveries in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania were critical in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. Their work brought them in close contact with the pastoralist Maasai people.
At the outset, we flew to Malindi on the Indian Ocean coast, and then made our way down the coast to the sleepy beach resort town of Watamu, where we stayed prior to the business end of our trip. We spent our time there soaking up the sun, swimming and snorkeling, but at the back of our minds, there was always unease about the political unrest happening around the country.
After five days in Watamu, we headed for Olkerri, the Leakey’s tented camp near the Tanzanian border. On the way, as dusk fell, we entered the legendary Great Rift Valley, with its endless plains, punctuated by shimmering lakes and acacia trees, with thickly woven weaver nests hanging from the branches. The election riots seemed a world away.
We stayed in the Leakey's bush camp for the four days, talking with them at length about their ideas on rural enterprise and the future of their business. We examined their production facilities, which included gas-fired kilns to make porcelain, and workshops for cutting the grass beads. We watched the Maasai women at work under the acacias, chatting animatedly as they strung beads onto elastic strands. We spent one memorable afternoon as guests at a Maasai barbecue, where a goat was slaughtered in our honor -- even Sachin, a lifelong vegetarian, duly chewed on a small piece of meat to acknowledge their hospitality.
One moment during our stay at the Leakey camp remains particularly vivid. In the middle of an intense discussion on the difficulties of shipping products from Kenya to the U.S., James broke off in mid-sentence, and shouted, "Look -- the volcano is erupting!" Sure enough, across the valley, near the Tanzanian border, the volcano Lengai was spectacularly spewing smoke and ash. It was a magical moment, one that poignantly captured the natural beauty of our surroundings.
After exploring various departure options, which included the possibility of being airlifted from Olkerii, we finally received word that it was safe to return to Nairobi by road, in time to catch our flights. We flew home from Nairobi the following morning.
Kenya remains in the throes of political violence. And yet, even as the pressures of academic work and recruiting begin to take their toll, our experience in Kenya has developed in our team a resolve to do everything we can to make this project a success, for the sake of the Leakeys and the Maasai community that welcomed us so warmly.
