Our Story

Moyo  Gems is a responsible miner-to-market gemstone collaboration born in  East Africa. We are working with the women artisanal gem miners and their male allies in Tanzania and Kenya to track rubies, sapphires,  tourmaline,  garnets, citrines, and amethysts, from miner to market. 

We work to empower women miners to improve their financial security,  access new, consistent market opportunities for fair trade, and channel investments back into their communities. 

Moyo Gems is jointly operated by a group of nonprofit and for-profit organizations. 

• Social programs are implemented by the national women miners‘ associations: the Tanzanian Women Miners Association (TAWOMA) and the Association of Women in Energy & Extractive Industries in Kenya (AWEIK). These gifts are often administratively received by the international nonprofit organization, Pact, and then sub-granted to these local organizations to run. Pact had provided critical, intensive support in the early days of the program. Social programs are focused directly in the gem mining regions where Moyo Gems miners live and work. 
• Gemstone market and export operations are now operated directly by AWEIK and TAWOMA with orders placed by ANZA Gems (US), Maison Piat (France), Nineteen48 (UK), and A Beautiful Story (NL).  Pact staff oversee the markets but national partners operate them independently. 

To support social programs, we encourage direct giving to the national organizations active in Kenya and Tanzania. Please contact us if you are in a position to provide more than US$500 and we can provide you a clear point of contact in each of these organizations. 

National partners: 

• Association of Women in Energy & Extractive Industies in Kenya (AWEIK)   (Kenya) 
• GemFund (Kenya): Focuses on teaching gem cutting and faceting to entrepreneurial mining area youth. 
• Tanzanian Women Miners’ Association (TAWOMA)  
• TAWOMA Youth Workshop (Tanzania): Focuses on expanding value chain opportunities to Tanzania’s young people, ages 18-35. They have a workshop in Dar Es Salaam and are preparing to do direct exports. 

What's behind a name? 

Moyo means 'heart' in Kiswahili (the dominant language in Tanzania and Kenya) and in a few other languages around the African continent. 

That's why we often call Moyo Gems  'gems from the heart.'

How do I buy the gems? 

Please click here to get to the buying page.  All Moyo Gems are sold wholesale via our program partners: Nineteen48,  ANZA Gems, Maison Piat, and the Tanzanian Women Miners Association (see  below!) 

We  have a small pilot program underway with mid and lower-value gems with the Tanzanian Women Miners Association (TAWOMA). However, for high-end and ultra-high end gems, please contact ANZA, Nineteen48, or Maison  Piat. 

What kind of social programs are in place? 

Moyo Gems' commercial model emphasizes formalization and maximizing the sales prices offered to East African gemstone miners. Miners earn 95% of the export price of the gemstones they sell, compared to 10-30% of what they would earn outside of the program. This is roughly 3-10 times more than they would normally make if they were outside of the Moyo Gems program. 

Moyo  Gems' commercial programs are funded by our gem trading partners (ANZA Gems, Maison Piat, Nineteen48, and the wholesale jewelry brand "A Beautiful Story"), the social programs are funded by generous donors like you!  Currently, these social programs emphasize literacy, numeracy, youth-led value addition,  and opportunities for miners for economic diversification beyond mining (via Pact's award-winning WORTH program). Learn more about our various social and economic programs here. 

I want to learn more about everything! 

Just click below! We also have an extensive FAQ section here.