Community
Classic Gems has been at the core of the community and is involved in local projects as well as providing different opportunities.
Classic Gems has been at the core of the community and is involved in local projects as well as providing different opportunities.
Classic Gems has partnered with Kutima Ranch to acquire land and build a school for the local community. The project progresses annually with a new classroom constructed every year to accommodate the existing students on their academic journey. The school has currently enrolled students up to Grade 6.
Classic Gems is also involved in the mentorship and tutelage of students from Taita-Taveta University Mining Department. The mine provides a practical experience for students in their quest to earn work-related knowledge.
As a key economic driver in the area, Classic Gems has partnered with Hadithi Crafts to donate the baler twine used on the monorope winch waste removal system to the local women’s groups. Once the twine’s work is complete at the mining camp, rather than discard it, the materials are recycled as raw material for development top-notch handcrafted bags which the women sell to earn a living. The project currently supports over 1100 women from the arid Taita-Taveta county.
The donation of the baler twine also aids in conservation efforts in an area dominated by elephants and other wildlife. The provision of a sustainable economic alternative reduces the likelihood of the local community being involved in poaching and deforestation of the surrounding tree cover.
Classic Gems sources and employs over 80% of its workforce from the local and surrounding communities. The economic impact in an area with significantly high poverty levels due to the harsh climatic conditions trickles to the micro-level improves the local spending power.
Classic Gems offers experiential tours of one of its mines to members of the public. The tour is a first-hand experience of the underground workings with the highest safety standards put in place. Don your safety gear and learn how miners identify, and extract Tsavorite and other valuable gemstones from one of the prominent mines in the region.
