At Karakorum, we want to make the world a better place for everyone, so we only stock ethically sourced homewares and gifts in our online shop – you can read more about our values and founder Natasha’s journey on the Karakorum about page.
Many of these items are handcrafted by artisans in Africa, Asia and South America, and we do everything we can to improve working conditions and make sure the people we work with are paid a fair wage.
Today, we wanted to focus on the makers, artisans and enterprises that we work with in African countries, so that you can learn more about why we stock their beautiful goods.
1. Colourful baskets from Gone Rural in Eswatini
Gone Rural began in a thatched mud hut in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) in the 1970s, where founder Jenny Thorne ran a small craft shop called Tishweshwe, selling handmade clothes, accessories and anti-apartheid literature.
As it grew, Jenny started to focus on hand-woven products, and ventured into the mountains, where the Lutindzi grass grows. Her vision was to give Swazi women independence, and in 1992, Gone Rural was born.
It was founded with a vision to empower women in the most remote areas of Eswatini, and has evolved into a handicraft company and design brand that “uses creativity to ignite change on a community level”.
Gone Rural is a role model in social enterprise and world-class handcraft, while also addressing the wider community needs by running health and education programs for artisans and their communities.
Now, Gone Rural is working with 770+ artisans in 53 communities across the country of Eswatini, and selling those women’s products to retailers across the globe.
To read more about the wonderful things that Gone Rural has brought to the remote communities of Eswatini, read this blog post from our archive: Gone Rural – These baskets are all heart!
2. Handmade Swazi Candles from Eswatini
Swazi Candles was started by 2 South African art graduates in 1982, in an old cowshed of a former dairy. Their reputation for producing unique candles grew quickly, and they started attracting visitors.
By the mid-90s, the humble cowshed workshop had transformed into an industry that employed over 200 local people and exported candles all over the world.
The beautifully intricate designs of Swazi Candles use the ancient technique known as “millefiori” or, “thousand flowers”, which was perfected in the great glass-making cities of Murano and Venice.
On the African coast, these Venetian trade beads were used as a form of currency to barter for gold and ivory, and the North and West Africans came to make their own variation, rare and sought after by collectors to this day.
Instead of glass, the gifted candle makers of Swaziland use a special hard wax to create their colourful designs with this millefiori style.
Swazi Candles is also a founding member of Swaziland Fair Trade Association, and are passionate about providing quality of life in the workplace for their employees.
Find out more about Swazi Candles and why they were the first ever product in our Karakorum shop in this blog post: Swazi Candles: Add a Splash of Colour to Your Home with these Colourful Candles, and while you’re here, take a look at the stunning candles we stock.
3. Baskets hand-woven by the Batwa women in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
We recently wrote a blog post all about working with artisans and communities bordering Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, but they’re such an important part of Karakorum, we’re including them in this post too.
Bwindi Handmade Crafts is an enterprise committed to promoting and empowering the people they work with, in order to give them a secure and sustainable source of additional income.
They work closely with 2 groups of 20 ladies from the Batwa community, who meet once a week to weave beautiful grass-woven items, including our popular woven trays, storage baskets, coasters and placemats.
The baskets are hand-woven with two types of dried grass – a thicker, stronger grass for the structure, and thinner, more pliable grass for weaving it together and creating the beautiful patterns that you see.
Find out more about how Bwindi Handmade Crafts helps to empower the Batwa women and their communities to thrive in our recent blog post.
4. Soapstone mined and carved by Tabaka Chigware Youth’s Self-Help Group from Kenya
Next up, we have a special group of 40 artisans in Kenya, called the Tabaka Chigware Youth’s Self-Help Group. This enterprise was launched in 1996 by Charles Nyabita in the Tabaka region of Kisii Kenya, where soapstone is mined.
The men and women successfully started bettering their families’ and communities’ livelihoods, by improving housing, clean water initiatives, medical facilities, and education for their children, as well as empowering young women.
Their beautiful carved goods are made of soapstone, which is a soft rock that largely contains talc. While it is easy to carve, it’s durable and heat-resistant, so has been used for cooking and heating equipment all over the world for centuries.
Using hand tools, large blocks of soapstone are dug out of large pits. The boulders are cut into smaller pieces with machetes called pangas, which are carried to the workshops, which can be up to 10 km away.
There is no public transport, and the area has little electricity or running water. Ethical groups like the ones we work with are trying to improve conditions in the area.
Soapstone carvings are done by skilled and experienced carvers, with younger carvers often observing and practising their skills to refine their expertise – all artistic skills are being passed on from generation to generation.
The women sand and wash the soapstone several times, until the surface is completely smooth. The finished product is painted (if desired) and polished with a creamy wax.
You can see some of these beautiful soapstone carvings in the Karakorum shop, such as the Twisty Soapstone Vases and Candleholders, and our beautiful Black Soapstone Plant Pot.
If you’d like to find out more about Tabaka Chigware Youths Self-Help Group and soapstone, check out our blog post, The magic of soapstone carving.
5. Kasigau basket weavers from Kasinde Crafts in Kenya
Finally, the wonderful Kasinde Crafts is a business organisation that supports and promotes local social enterprises, community groups, and local businesses in East Africa.
Though Kasinde Crafts was only officially registered as a business in 2020, they’ve been in operation since 2011, when one of the founders – Mwehe – started working with Kasigau basket weavers to help increase their household incomes and empower the weavers to advance their own socio-economic development.
The initial group of Kasigau basket weavers earned just 50,000 Kenyan shillings a year (ca. £351 in 2011), but by 2014, their income had risen to more than 500, 000 Kenyan shillings per year (ca. £3,514 in 2014).
Today, there are 7 artisan groups, whose earnings benefit more than 1,200 community members in Kasigau, located in an “elephant corridor” that connects the Tsavo West National Park with the Tsavo East National Park.
Basket weaving is one of the few activities that give the remaining women a sense of agency, despite all social, economic and ecological barriers that hinder them.
We have some amazing Kasinde Crafts Kasigau baskets in the Karakorum shop, such as the Black Striped Basket made of sustainably sourced Sisal, and Pink Sisal Storage Baskets too.
If you’d like to find out more about Kasinde Crafts and their hand-woven baskets, read our blog post, Meet Kasinde Crafts.
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the talented African artisans and makers that we work with, as well as why we work with them – to ensure that people get a fair wage and a better quality of life.
If you’d like more information about the makers and enterprises we work with, you can find lots of helpful articles in the Karakorum blog, as well as ethical guides, home decor ideas, and more.
