Maybe you鈥檝e seen earrings made from fishing tackle or anklets fashioned from hemp, but the newest trend in 鈥済reen鈥� jewelry is just starting to, well, catch on. 鈥淪narewear鈥� is fast becoming the latest rage in certain rural villages in Zambia. Here, where wildlife poaching was once rampant, the same snares used to trap elephants, lions, and leopards are being crafted into a one-of-a-kind line of jewelry. What鈥檚 more, the handmade bracelets and necklaces are sold by those intimately familiar with the raw material: a growing band of reformed poachers. The enterprise is part of a highly successful sustainable farming co-op in Zambia鈥檚 rural Luangwa Valley.

Known as COMACO (Community Markets for Conservation), the co-op was designed by the 菊花视频 (WCS) to encourage poachers to turn in firearms and snares and receive job training. And so in exchange for 40,000 snares and 800 firearms, former poachers of Luangwa now draw their income from organic farming, beekeeping, gardening, and carpentry, in addition to the jewelry-making.

Many of COMACO鈥檚 eco-friendly products are sold in Zambia鈥檚 capital, Lusaka, and outlying towns under the brand name 鈥淚t鈥檚 Wild!鈥� Membership in the program has grown to more than 35,000 since its inception in 2002. Last year, the co-op grossed more than $350,000 in sales; it also saved thousands of animals from being poached.

The idea for snare wire jewelry was hatched by COMACO director Dale Lewis of WCS. Faced with hundreds of yards of confiscated wire snares left to rust in storage and yearning to see them transformed into something useful, Lewis proposed the concept to Zambian jewelry designer Misozi Kadewele. In her capable hands, the snare wire is picked from large bags of the tangled metal and incorporated with seeds from local plants and trees. Kadewele employes several other local people to complete her creative team, and together the group can produce up to five necklaces a day.

Snare-wire accessories are for sale at the regional Mfuwe Airport in Zambia, an arrival site for eco-tourists coming to see the wildlife of South Luangwa National Park. Plans are already underway to expand sales via the Internet, though, as Lewis likes to point out: 鈥淪upplies are hopefully limited, as snares become a thing of the past in Zambia.鈥�