We love art, and our beautiful Africa is rich with different varieties of art and culture. We believe there is immense African talent within the crafts industry: Every piece is personalized, expressive and vibrant. Given most of the artisans we engage with live within rural settings, we observed most of the artistic pieces they create lack market access. Concurrently, the artisans use the natural environment to both source their materials, as well as draw inspiration from it. Our goal at KC is to create sustainable forms of income while proactively nurturing our natural environments.
The art of weaving and crafting has been practiced in Africa since time immemorial, being passed from one generation to the next. This has resulted in varied designs that tell a story of what the weavers see, or saw. Keenly observed, one can tell the historical influence of a piece and its people just by looking at it: Their stories are in the patterns created, the tightness of the fibers, the natural dyes used etc. It is this knowledge transfer through crafts that creates a deep appreciation for the various cultures that are separated by lack of information.
Despite the weavers’ differing motivations for engagement with us, KC aims to grow African socio-enterprises that are environmentally sustainable and offer adaptability options for the changing climatic conditions that make dependence on the natural environment increasingly hard. As such, through marketing these local crafts, their is potential to influence positive local outcomes!