Bear Hugs Alum Helps Kenyan Villagers Earn a Living from their Handicrafts Margaret Higgins Bowker ’68 runs a nonprofit that brings artisans’ work to the U.S.—and a student helped her expand sales online “Bear Hugs” celebrates heartwarming stories of Cornellians on the Hill and around the world. Have an idea? Email us at cornellians@cornell.edu! By Melissa Newcomb When you go on a trip, you probably take a single suitcase. But when Margaret Higgins Bowker ’68 travels to Kenya, she returns with eight—stuffed to bursting. The Arts & Sciences alum runs Kenya Arts, a nonprofit that buys handmade baskets from women in remote villages, sells them in the U.S., and returns the profits to the makers. And now, a Cornell undergrad is helping her expand the philanthropic venture online. Bowker with one of the basket-makers. Since 2001, Bowker has been buying baskets by the hundreds, then selling them at U.S. markets and craft fairs. Made from sisal plants, they come in a variety of vibrant dyed hues, woven with natural shades to form intricate patterns. Bowker has bought baskets from more than 500 women in the Taita villages around Kenya’s Mount Kasigau. Artisans at work. As she explains, they’re paid twice for their crafts: once when she buys the baskets, and again when she returns to give them the profits from their subsequent sale in the U.S. “There’s a very big trust factor with what I do,” says Bowker. “I get a pretty good price for the baskets—but the women know that I will always come back and bring them at least double what they made when I bought them.” A former zoology major, Bowker first traveled to Kenya in 1973, spending a year doing research for her doctorate in animal behavior from Northern Arizona University. She returned in 2001 when her husband, Richard Bowker ’68, a department head at Western Kentucky University, led a group of students to the Mount Kasigau region for research projects and a cultural exchange with counterparts from the University of Nairobi. The women know that I will always come back and bring them at least double what they made when I bought them. Visiting villages to buy food and supplies, Bowker met some of the local women. When she learned about their lives—including that they sometimes struggled to afford their children’s school fees and other necessities—she was inspired to buy the first of what would become thousands of baskets. “Every time we go, I feel like I’ve gone back to what is elementary in life,” says Bowker, who has taught biology part time at several universities. “That’s water, a roof over your head, some nutritious food to get you through the day, and safety.” When Bowker visits, the women display their baskets collectively and she buys at least one from each person. As she makes her selections, a group secretary records the price and maker of every item she purchases. During her student days. When she returns with the proceeds—amounting to thousands of dollars—the women collectively decide what to spend it on. Previous years’ earnings have gone toward tanks to collect rainwater; tuition and school supplies; and seeds for planting crops on the small plots that the women tend near their homes. Every time we go, I feel like I’ve gone back to what is elementary in life. Bowker has since expanded into buying handmade jewelry from a Kenyan man who crafts unique pieces from beads, antique silver, bone, and other materials. And she sells copies of a book she created, My Village, that features colored pencil drawings by Kenyan children depicting their daily lives. Bowker views baskets for sale. Bowker—who doesn’t keep any of the profits from her ventures—sells the items at craft fairs in and around Alexandria, VA, where she lives. And with help from a fellow Cornellian, she is broadening her audience with an online store. A few years ago, while still in high school, fellow Alexandria resident Anna Foote ’28 attended a craft fair where Bowker was selling the handicrafts. Anna Foote ’28 While Bowker was talking to a potential customer, Foote happened to overhear her telling the story behind the baskets. “I was fascinated with what she did,” recalls Foote, a global development major in CALS. “I told her I would love to help her, because I really believe in the cause.” In early August 2025, the two launched an ecommerce website for the Kenyan products—and, as part of her Cornell studies, Foote hopes to do research in the villages where Bowker sources her baskets. “I had ideas of what I wanted to do in life,” says Foote. “And meeting her—such a compassionate and supportive person—was a reminder that I’m on the right path.” Top: Baskets on display for Bowker in Kenya. (All photos provided.) Published August 4, 2025 Comments Molly Higgins Bruce 5 Aug, 2025 Thank you for the gorgeous photos and beautiful story of my sister Margie’s heart felt community work with the African women who create the gorgeous baskets. Reply Ezra Mdam 5 Aug, 2025 This is a milestone to what my friend has being doing for years We call Mama Margaret the livelihood changer here in Kasigau Reply Kasaine Simon 6 Aug, 2025 The positive livelihoods changes that mama Margie’s initiative brings to the Kasigau community by supporting these womens’ only source of household income will remain cast in the stones of mount Kasigau. Every dollar you give that brings food on the table, pays school fees for a rural child, ensures access to clean water for households in this semi-arid area means so much to the Kasigau community! Reply JEAN IVANUSKA, Class of 1974 12 Aug, 2025 How inspiring! Thank you for sharing this special legacy story. Brightest Blessings! Reply David Garcia, Class of 1990 19 Aug, 2025 Congratulations on a great project. I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1988 to 1990. I carried one of these baskets while in the country….. And brought some home when I returned. “Amani,Upendo,Umoja “ Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni ‘R2-D2, Pick Me a Berry’: Alum’s Firm Grows Fruit with Robots Quizzes & Puzzles Alumni Trivia: ‘Top Jobs’ Chime In When Is a Cornell Sweatshirt Not Just a Cornell Sweatshirt?