CULINKE works with two fine artists’ youth groups to provide the youth with an opportunity to show case their artwork while also rewarding them for their talents and alleviating poverty.

Elixir Arts and KIFAA- an acronym for Kisumu Fine Art Association helps engage talented youths of between 16 and 26 in creative and productive pursuits living up to the mission and vision of CULINKE. Through these engagements youths avoid risky behaviour. 

At Elixir Arts (elixir means from nothing to something) plywood is etched to produce very original artwork of animals, landscape and even portraits. Elixir is also a Vocational Training Centre training orphans in etching. It is run by David Mboya and Gabriel Ojil. 

KIFAA artists mostly paint on cloth-Batik-. These are colourful abstracts depicting nature, man and animal in several lights. 

CULINKE works with such groups by selling their wares through Alternative Trade Organisations and through other cause related entrepreneurs. Buying from CULINKE changes a life of a family, takes someone to school or even gives an orphan a reason to live on… a shilling that means there is hope yet again.

 

 

CULINKE places emphasis on empowering the youths in ways that build their skills by fully using them. In the resource centres located in urban centres CULINKE youths trained in computer hardware and software use their skills in income earning opportunities  by helping institutions recover data lost through corrupt programmes, networking, computer maintenance, help with web design and hosting. Infact CULINKE is the first such NGO in western Kenya offering full data recovery services, and hope to advance to full data management by August 2010. Other activities giving the youth gainful employments are covered under the Social Enterprise Programme and ICT covering Fair Trade and Marketing are domain name registration, web design and help with hosting, corporate in-house training on computer packages, refresher courses for companies, computer hardware, network administration, network infrastructure, software development, security and data recovery.

 

 “CULINKE will open a Community ICT Networking and Training Centre” that will offer trainings at 4 levels:-

1. Train community and teachers on use of ICT at a highly subsidised fee will generate a small but consistent income for the centre.

2. Tailor-made training for corporate clients wishing to have refresher courses/upgrading of IT professional skills or an introduction to ICT at the workplace.

3. Subsidised computer applications trainings for out-of-school youths and special interest groups like women’s’ groups, the physically handicapped, youth groups and church organisations or church sponsored classes and

4. A stand alone professional networking training in association with a consenting partner offering a Networking Academy Programme.

 

The other enterprise activity for the Centre which CULINKE is already doing is offering networking services, including web designs, hosting and maintenance, data management and recovery  and ICT consultancies on two levels, for the Non-profit Sector at subsidised rates, and  for the corporate sector at a fairly profitable level.

 

CULINKE now plans to work with computer donors to have the youth repair, sell and maintain refurbished computers to other clients at fair rates to help make computer available widely as well as to raise funds for the ICT department. Lastly CULINKE will open and run an internet cyber café and charge community friendly rates to enable accessibility of the internet affordably to the common man especially for the  financially excluded.