Muslim women in Kenya raise butterflies to aid forests

MOMBASA, KENYA - NOVEMBER 20: Butterflies are empowering and transforming the lives of many women in the village of Gede on the eastern coast of Kenya. Gede is well-known for its ancient ruins which consist of mansions, mosques and houses that are estimated to be around 800 years old. Muslim women from a community-based enterprise in Gede dubbed the Kipepeo Project which supports people’s livelihoods are selling high-quality and diverse butterflies and moth pupae to international markets -- mostly Europe and America, with the U.K. and Turkey being their biggest markets -- thus fighting against poverty and becoming empowered. Most of them, like Rehema Hassan, are uneducated and rely on the lucrative butterfly business to pay school fees for their children and cater for their daily needs. The women are armed with butterfly hunting gear. Some lay traps in trees while others use homemade nets with handles. They scour the forests for butterflies, being careful to avoid the many elephant corridors. Hassan said the key is not injuring the butterflies by using cheap nets. She said that in the past, she used to sell firewood and charcoal. Charcoal is one of the most common forms of cooking fuel used by communities that live next to the forest. They make it by cutting trees. The trees are partially burnt and buried in the earth, where they slowly burn. By the time they cool, they become charcoal. Hassan struggled to seize a butterfly that was fluttering its wings inside a stationary butterfly trap. After a few seconds, with a gentle clutch, her hand revealed an iridescent glow from a dancing Charaxes butterfly. She carefully placed the fragile insect in a net-like basket where it joined around a dozen others, all with vivid colors. The thirsty new recruit folded its wings gently upward and drank nectar from fresh flowers that she had prepared early that morning. (Footage by Andrew Wasike Shimanyula/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)