How Urban Ranch’s leather is supporting the future of wildlife in Kenya
Urban Ranch was founded in 2021 to create a unique range of high quality leather items, with the aim of reforming the leather supply industry in Kenya by using cow hides sourced from wildlife conservancies where cattle and wildlife are allowed to coexist in harmony.
Until now it has been thought that cattle and wildlife are unable to utilise the same area of land due to wildlife, such as lions, predating on cattle. This has often led to human-wildlife conflict, resulting in wildlife being eradicated from areas where they roamed freely. Consequently this has led to a 40% decline in Kenya’s lion population in the last 20 years!
However, change is here with Urban Ranch’s products!
Before any of our products are even made we are supporting wildlife conservation in Kenya by buying most of our leather from these conservancies that allow cattle and wildlife to co-exist and that area actively helping conserve some of Earth’s most endangered species!
Urban Ranch’s social commitment
Not only does Urban Ranch use premium Kenyan leather sourced from wildlife conservancies, we also have all our products carefully hand made in Kenya by Kenyans.
Many of our leather items also have beautiful bead work on them, sewn by Kenyan ladies from community groups that live in rural parts of Kenya. We send them our products to bead, and using their brilliant skill and high quality beads, they add an extra sparkle to many of the products. By providing employment to these rural communities we are helping empower Kenyans and alleviate poverty in many rural areas of Kenya to people who otherwise would have little opportunity of employment.
This positive social aspect combined with our commitment to only sourcing leather from wildlife conservancies makes Urban Ranch the leading sustainably leather manufacturer in Kenya, both in environmental and social responsibility.
Urban Ranch’s continued support for lions in Kenya
That is not the end of the story though! Once our leather products are sold we donate 5% of each sale to Lion Landscapes - a charity working to conserve Kenya’s future lion populations. Our donations go towards helping ensure the lion populations of Kenya continue to have enough secure habitat within which to exist.
How YOU can help support wildlife and people in Kenya
Our products are available to be bought worldwide (www.urbanranch.co.uk) and in Kenya through our online stores (www.urbranranchkenya.com) or in our flagship store in Nanyuki, Kenya (next to Dormans coffee shop). By purchasing our products you are not only helping conserve current areas of wildlife habitat and securing a future for lions in Kenya and you are also providing employment opportunities for many rural Kenyan communities.
