My friend, Claire Sadler, went to Africa last year, where she had an amazing experience and brought back memories and … Mulberry Mongoose jewelry to give to friends. She gave me a lovely snare link bracelet with turquoise, and because I wear it so often and love the story surrounding it, I reached out to the creator of this business, Kate Wilson.
Kate currently lives with her husband and two children in Johannesburg, South Africa, but the business began and remains in Zambia, at Shop Less Ordinary, in a country she absolutely loves. Hailing from Suffolk, England, Kate met her husband (from Zimbabwe) while he served in the British Army, and moved to Africa 2007 to be with him. She has not looked back, and together, they have created a rich life together.
That rich life includes Mulberry Mongoose, which evolved from Kate learning how to craft jewelry with a newfound friend as a hobby. When she arrived in Zambia, she worked in a photographic safari lodge in the South Luangwa. She said she and Abi would spend Sunday afternoons working with local women to craft jewelry to sell at local markets. When Abi left, she asked Kate to carry on the small initiative. She recalled, “It was just fun and very much a Sunday hobby at first.”
About five years later, in 2013, Kate said she wanted to give purpose to the jewelry. She had become aware of snare ware – poachers’ wire traps used to catch and strangle animals. Because of an arrangement with rangers in the field of conservation, who find and confiscate these traps – which can be a dangerous job, since poachers obviously have no qualms about taking animals’ lives illegally – her team receives and repurposes the wire into pieces that create jewelry to reflect African heritage.
Kate launched the business and named it Mulberry Mongoose. She said, “It was quite tricky as I decided to set up the business the same year I had my first daughter. It was a lot of work but I figured it out!”
Why the name?
According to the Mulberry Mongoose website, “Our name captures our business DNA. We are inspired by the banded mongoose, a wonderful animal who survives in the African bush by caring for their community; one mongoose keeps a look out while others feed or watch the young. They are stronger because they look after one another; likewise, we thrive because giving back is at the core of our business.” Mulberry is a British color, and Kate had a Mulberry tree in her garden when she grew up in England. The word Mulberry is used to represent their commitment to international standards in design, quality and client service, despite juggling the many challenges of running a business in the African bush.
Kate’s team is comprised of 15 rural Zambians who are trained in-house. Kate describes them as being physically strong, ingenious, creative and tenacious. Kate is the designer of the jewelry, which features earrings, bracelets and necklaces made of snare wire predominantly, complimented by natural woods, seeds, turquoise, pearls, beads, leather and other indigenous materials. She also designed a “Heritage Collection” that includes vintage coins from when Zambia received its independence in 1964, along with Zulu seeds, cultured freshwater pearls, upcycled beads from snare traps and handmade metal beads. Many of Kate’s designs appeal to men and women, especially the wide variety of bracelets.
Kate added, “You basically have this awful, harmful piece of wire that is set down to harm wildlife … and I thought, what if we could just turn that into something amazing and give money back?” To that end, Mulberry Mongoose has donated funding from its proceeds to several conservation NGOs and you can see the list at its website.
In reference to tying African heritage with the conservation effort into the marketing of the jewelry, Kate explained, “ I didn’t want to make it a pity-party purchase, and also, it’s disrespectful to a rural African team if you underplay the creation … we have to have excellent design, excellent quality and excellent customer service.”
She continued, “Every time we grow as a business, our impact grows; every time our sales increase so does our ability to invest in the local community by sourcing materials, removing and upcycling brutal snare traps, empowering our rural African team and increasing donations to conservation. It’s a virtuous circle.
Shop Less Ordinary is located within a 15-minute drive from the South Luangwa National Park main gate. It attracts tourists who come to not only buy the jewelry, but also to learn more about snare wire, and get an opportunity to make a snare bead.
Guests might even want to compete in a snare coiling competition. The shop also hosts private parties that include a workshop tour, the aforementioned competition and shopping. It is possible to arrange for a group jewelry making event, as well.
I went shopping online, to begin a bracelet collection for myself featuring the Mulberry Mongoose’s snare wire jewelry, and to purchase gifts for family and friends – including turquoise earrings for my granddaughter’s birthday. The ordering process was seamless and I have already been thanked for my purchase, and informed that my jewelry will be in country by mid-April. International shipping costs only $28. Note: There are also duty import fees, which ran around $22.
My gift from Claire came wrapped – as all do – inside a lovely chitenge gift bag with a gorgeous African print, along with a handwritten note from the jewelry maker, a flyer with a map to find the workshop and an explanation of where the proceeds will be donated. Special requests – such as videos or handwritten notes from the team – can be requested.
After speaking to Kate, I hope to visit Shop Less Ordinary someday, and would love to experience a bucket list check-off for a vacation – a photo safari.
Be sure to visit Mulberry Mongoose’s website. Also, go to its YouTube channel for more of an in-depth experience about how the jewelry is made, and to see the beauty that is Africa.
Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com. View all posts by Barbara Baird
