Imani Collective started in a small village outside of Mombasa, Kenya. Their founder, Jenny Nuccio, traveled there looking to help fund education projects for kids. As she got to know the families she realized that the children who were struggling the most came from single income homes where their mother’s did not have many job opportunities and often sold fruit for mere pennies a day. Jenny fell in love with the people and decided to move to Kenya full time to learn from and invest in the community. Through broken English and Swahili, she and the sixteen women awkwardly laughed their way into deep friendship and mutual partnership. They taught her how to cook over an open fire, how to wash her clothes, and of course, how to carry her water like a local. In return, Jenny taught them how to sew. Through creating this collective, she realized they were not just better together, they are their best together.
