Just wanted to post a quick update so you guys would know what’s going on here at Bedouins! We’ve wrapped up the main editing to the KIINI video as well as the 3 ‘vignettes’ that are going to be used as testimonials to show the impact that KIINI’s had in their community there in Kenya. We’ll be releasing some of the vignettes soon on here as soon as we get the score wrapped up and that’ll help us set the tone for the release of the whole project, which will happen in tandem with the release of our new site/brand!

Phil Moody, the designer behind the new Bedouins look, will be posting on here soon with a teaser of our new look and some insight into what changes we’re making to our brand and why…so stay tuned!

It has been a year of change so far in every way possible for us here at Bedouins. Change of location: We were in NYC last year (which was a change in-and-of itself) but now we’re back down south in Alabama again. Change of faces: The bedouins staff has slimmed down lately, going from (at one point in time) a staff of 5 to just me and some really amazing volunteers plus our board of directors. Change of identity: on the surface level, we’re rebranding, redesigning and restarting our entire web prescience (remember those amazing volunteers I mentioned – Phil Moody is the man behind the new look that’ll be coming soon!). But beneath the surface re-design, Bedouins is also doing some looking in and figuring out exactly who we are. Story telling is our thing and helping those with amazing stories that are going untold is our mission, but we’re still thinking, talking and praying about what that looks like for the future.

So all of that said, I’m really really excited about everything. From the re-brand to the look in the mirror; from the slimmed down staff to the unknown that lies ahead for Bedouins: everything about it has me buzzing. I can’t tell you how great I feel knowing that we’re going to be doing something awesome…whatever it may be. We’ve had some amazing opportunities these last few years to tell stories from all over the world. Some of them we knocked out of the park and some of them we struck out bad, but we’ve learned quite a few things and the one thing that’s stuck with me and has me grinning ear to ear as I type this blog is this: There is a never-ending supply of AMAZING stories out there that are going untold and there is a MASSIVE audience waiting to hear them.

Anyways…enough of my blog-rambling, here’s a more important update: Not only will be we launching the new site in the not-too-distant future, We’ll be launching it filled with the KIINI project as the new content! I’m so excited and overly anxious to share the project with you as well as the beautiful new site, so make sure you stay tuned, keep an eye on our twitter feed (bedouins_intl) and spread the word…we’re back with stories to tell and we would love for you to be a part of the audience.

Thanks for sticking around through our blog-drought…here’s to a new season and some really amazing new stories!

Okay, so it’s a bit late. But trust me, we’ve been busy. This year is going to be big. After our time ‘off’ working in NYC, we’re so excited to be back and working with Bedouins International projects again, starting with our friends over in Kenya at KIINI. We’ll be kicking this new year off (soon) with a new website, including new work, new photos, new information and a refined vision and mission statement. We’ll also be launching our first new project in over a year, the KIINI project…which is going to be amazing.

This year we have big plans, big goals and a re-ignigted passion for storytelling. The blog will be rolling again, starting now, with fresh photos, videos and stories from our time in NYC with Times Square Church. We’ll be showing you what we learned, and what we produced while we were there.

We’ll also be continuing to tweet and blog updates on the KIINI project as it goes through the many stages of production. Currently we’ve finished editing all of the photos, transcribing the audio interviews and have started sorting and cataloguing the video clips for editing. If you want to keep up please check us out on twitter: HERE or follow us at @bedouins_intl

Thanks for your support, thanks for lending us your ears and thanks for sticking around. It’s great to be back!

-S

some woman show off their shop in Kenya that they own thanks to the mirco-loans and support from KIINI

I’m down in Alabama for the summer (shooting weddings) and I arrived to an awesome surprise…the film from our trip to Kenya with Kiini was back!  I just downloaded it and did a really quick thumb through and it’s really really fantastic.  I can’t wait to get it all edited and start working on the project in the next couple of weeks.  Here are a few of my quick favorites from the bunch…be back soon with more!

Well, it’s much past the 7th day of our trip to Nyeri with Kiini, but due to our lack of internet access we’re just now getting around to posting these. We’re actually sitting in the lobby of the Kenya airport waiting to check in (which they don’t allow until a few hours before the flight) and we happened to find some wi-fi!

Our last day with Kiini was a short one, but we were still able to accomplish quite a bit before we made the drive back to Nairobi. We started the morning just across the street from the Kiini office visiting a disabled man who is part of a group that has benefited from the micro-loans through Kiini. He now runs a small shop making all sorts of metal items, from drain pipes to watering cans and much more. He’s been able to start and sustain his business and provide for his family through support from Kiini.

After that we were able to attend one of the group meetings and see first hand how the loans and bookkeeping work. One of the women’s groups had their monthly meeting and Kiini attended to help with the paperwork and banking to assure that everything was in order and that everyone was doing their part.

Our project with Kiini was amazing and we were really impressed with their hearts and commitment to the community there in Nyeri. They are reaching out and touching so many lives and we were honored to get to be a part of what they’re doing.

Stay tuned for much more on Kiini as we begin our ‘back end’ work on the project from the states over the next few weeks. There will be videos/photos/design and many more stories that you won’t want to miss!

This man, who was born disabled, was empowered through the Kiini Sustainable Initiative.

Some of the items that he makes in his shop.

He demonstrated to us how he makes some of the metal items that he sells there in his shop.

Kennedy of Kiini.

The Utugi Ladies group meeting in Nyeri, a group that Kiini works with.  (Utugi means grace)

Boniface goes over the books with one of the women from the Utugi group.

Sam looks in on the group meeting.

Fraciah, one of the women from the Utugi Women’s group.