Meet a few of our skilled artisans who make the beautiful Kiondo baskets in Kenya.
Our Kiondo artisans live far away from big cities, in small villages or in the country side where work opportunities are rare and small-scale farming is the most typical source of income. At Mifuko we take it at heart that we can bring work to the women and they can themselves decide how much they want to work and when.
As you'll read from their stories, basket weaving allows our artisans to invest in their children, homes and future.
Anna is a self-taught weaver and has a farm with chickens and dairy cows, selling the yield to the members of her village. Easter and Christmas are the most important selling seasons.
Currently Anna is building her own house and is planning to build a better shelter for her chickens.
Anna loves her job and her family.
Weaving has always been Beatrice's full-time-job. Before she joined the Kingongi women’s group in 2010, she sold her traditional baskets in the marketplace.
Her plan is to open a kiosk for basic home care products; she would also like to buy a cow.
Beatrice weaves mostly in afternoons after she has completed her chores at home. Her favorite meal is rice and stew.
Carol has a small poultry farm where she raises chicken and eggs for sale. She plans on expanding the farm and building a chicken coup.
Carol was taught weaving by her mother-in-law, and has been weaving since 2017. She uses her earnings for her family needs like school fees and food.
The most important things in Carol's life are her work as an artisan with Mifuko, her farm business and her family. Her favorite meal is chapatti and rice.
Meet our artisan Hellena. She is also a farmer with cows as well as crops such as peas, vegetables and fruit. She lives in village of Kalawani where she is building a house.
Hellena has been weaving baskets since she was a young girl, learning the skill from her grandmother. Now she weaves baskets for Mifuko in the Kyondo women’s group.
The additional income has helped her buy building materials for her house. She is also planning to invest in large scale farming of mangoes. The most important things to Hellena are her family and leading a healthy life.
Our artisan Mirriam owns a small shop in her village and has been weaving baskets in the Kithitu women’s group since 2013, having learnt the skill from her grandmother.
With the income from Mifuko she can support her family by paying school fees, buy household items and also her uniform for the church choir.
Mirriam is saving money to buy a plot where she plans to build houses for rent. She is passionate about singing in her local church choir. Her favorite color is black and favorite meals are chapatti and a mixture of beans and maize.
Family is the most important thing in Mirriam’s life.
Our artisan Irene is also the owner of a small business, selling both chickens and eggs. She starts her day early in the morning, getting her three children ready for school, then cleans her home and tends her chickens.
Irene began weaving baskets in 2010, and weaves in the afternoons. Irene loves working for Mifuko because it has helped her raise her standard of living, not just financially but also socially. Irene uses her income to pay school fees and for her home needs.
She plans to buy goats in the future. Her favorite meal is rice and stew.
Meet our artisan Jane, known as a songbird in her village. She also sings in the local church choir. She is a farmer of oranges, mangoes and vegetables, selling her harvest in the market.
Jane's aunt taught her how to weave when she was young so during the off-season she is a full-time basket weaver in the Kyondo women’s group.
She plans to use her savings to expand her house. Jane’s favorite color is black and she loves ugali and vegetables such as sukuma wiki.
Agnes is a member of the Mifuko team in Kikima village. She works in our warehouse and organises the orders for the self-help groups.
Agnes has seven children and she relaxes by doing housework and spending time with her husband. Her hobbies include Bible study and farming.
She admires her husband, a builder, and they encourage each other to work hard. Her favourite food is white rice and spinach. She is known to have a lot of cattle and says farming is her special skill. People in her village say he is hardworking and admire her dedication to her farm.
Faith is one of the ladies who weaves baskets for Mifuko.
She has six children and other than weaving she has a farm where she grows mainly maize and beans. Her talent is singing and her favourite colours are white and blue.
Her friends and family say she is a very hardworking farmer and she acknowledges that fact. She uses the money she gets from Mifuko to pay school fees for her kids and she saves the rest for later use.
Introducing Catherine, one of our talented artisans. She has two children and sings in her spare time to relax after working in the garden, where she grows French beans, cabbage and spinach.
She loves farming, which is also her talent. Catherine has found innovative ways to irrigate her crops despite the harsh weather conditions in her village.
She is very responsible and is loved by her friends and family for her kindness. She first learned to weave from other women in her self-help group and is happy to be part of Mifuko.
Today we would like to introduce you to Mary, one of our talented artisans. She has nine children and relaxes by spending time with her family.
Her role model is the headteacher at Syeluni Secondary School, the high school in her village.
She loves eating ugali and cabbage or kale and is a very good farmer. She enjoys working for Mifuko since the income helps her improve her farm.
Winfred is one of our wonderful artisans.
Known in her village as Winnie, she has four children who she enjoys spending time with. Her favourite food is chapatti and stew. She is a talented singer and sings in a local church choir.
Her role model is Monica, a local businessman in her village.
She has been weaving for a very long time and makes the best baskets. She was very happy when she joined Mifuko to do what she loves most.
Meet our artisan Martha.
She lives in Kyala village and is a member of the weavers self-help group King'ongi. Martha has been weaving Mifuko baskets for the last 10 years.
Her favourite food is chapati beef stew and her favourite colour is blue. She is also a skilled knitter, making school sweaters and seat covers. In the future, she would like to open a small tailoring shop.
Meet one of our artisans, Jacinta.
Jacinta is a skilled basket weaver having learnt the craft at school when she was a little girl. She is also an environmentalist.
From her earnings, she pays for school fees and buys fod and clothes for her family. Jacinta loves the colour green and the most important things in her life are her family, and her work.
Meet our artisan, Christine. She is a vegetable farmer, and in 2014 her friend taught her how to weave. Since then Christine has enjoyed weaving with her friends in the Faith women's group.
The money she earns from Mifuko is now her main source of income.
The most important things for her in life are her family and seeing her children reach their goals. She loves all traditional kamba foods like a mixture of maize and beans. Her favourite colours are yellow and blue.
Meet Joyce, one of our wonderful artisans.
She is the breadwinner of her family. She often goes out to find sisal to weave ropes to be sold in the local market. She also weaves baskets in the Faith Women’s group in which she has been a member since 2013.
Her family and her job are the most important things in her life. In the future, she wants to buy a water tank in order to start farming vegetables and selling them in addition to ropes. Joyce sings in her local church choir.
Meet one of our wonderful artisans, Janet Nzomo.
She loves weaving because it keeps her busy and helps earn additional income that helps her to continue to provide for her children, give them good education, and afford them healthcare.
She wants to set a good example for her family.
Meet one of our wonderful artisans Eunice Kyalo.
She loves making baskets, because it helps her earn a living and she also gets to interact with her friends ehile she works
She is ambitious and looking forward to working more with Mifuko.
