All our varied products are customizable to suit an individual’s needs and tastes, an investment of local cultures that immediately transforms spaces with their warmth, authenticity and uniqueness.
Sisal Products
With its spiky leaves the sisal plant, a succulent, is considered one of the most important leaf fiber plants. The plant is mostly grown in semi-arid areas of Kenya taking 2-3 years to mature. The fiber extracted from the leaves is puffy, natural white and is the main material used in making sisal products.
Our sisal products are popular as storage solutions around the home, planters, mats and tote bags. The range of designs are inspired by natural and artificial landscapes like the old railway, road, hills and village pathways. Each weaver, inspired by their natural and artificial environment, embeds these designs into the baskets they produce.
The sisal fibre can be dyed to make various vibrant and earthy tones. These tones ae either extracted from manufactured or natural dyes. Natural dyes are extracted from sand (to give various shades of brown), ash (grey tones), plant extracts (these range from fruits, bark and roots, with various possible various primary and secondary tones), charcoal and mud from stream beds (this gives various tones of black). The process for making these natural dyes involves drying the raw materials, crushing them to make them more finer, and then boiling these with the sisal fibre. Duration of boiling also dictates the tone to be achieved. We also use manufactured dyes to achieve the more complex colors (with the same process of achieving tones), with each client’s preference.
The sisal products can also be infused with other materials to achieve various functionalities, giving them a modern look. The most popular material used is leather. Leather is added at the rim, with/or handles added of various lengths. Fabric is also added to line the interior, most especially when the baskets are used as hand bags.
Maintenance
1. Stains
Sisal fibre is durable with proper care but requires extra attention especially when cleaning. Traditionally, there is a tree bark used to clean off sisal fibre stains. However, given it’s limited availability, below are some steps on cleaning off stains using mild soap and water.
1. If the stain is wet, dry the stained area to remove any moisture soaked in the sisal fibre;
2. Once dry, if possible, scrap the dried stain (mud, food etc) (use a soft brush) to remove as much of the solidified stain;
3. Use a damp cloth to dub on the area that is stained, after which dry it out for just a few minutes;
4. If you must dip the sisal product in water, only do so for a short amount of time and rub this gently with soap. Do not wring it as this will distort the shape and loosen the strands;
5. If the product is infused with other materials, particularly leather, make sure the added materials don’t remain soaked while the basket is drying;
6. If you have a steamer, use it gently and under low heat.
PS: Avoid leaving your basket in direct sunlight as is may cause fading of the color over time.
Avoid scrubbing your basket using a hard brush or any hard bristles.
2. Out of shape
Most times after receiving the items, and given the need to minimise costs of shipping, most products arrive squished and out of shape to reduce volume. Below are options you could follow to assist the baskets in regaining their shape.
– Once removed from their transportation means, if you have increasing sizes, try to fit these into each other, from the biggest size to the smallest and let them stay in that position for a few days;
– For other remain sizes, stuff this with clothes or newspapers and keep them stuffed for a few days;
– If needing the baskets to regain shape quickly, steam the out of shape baskets with a low heat setting of the ironing box.
If you have other options you have discovered that hep regain the shape of the baskets, please feel free to share.
Wall baskets
Our wall baskets, locally known as ‘Ebiibo’, are made from papyrus reeds in Uganda. This collection is versatile and has multiple uses around the home. These wall baskets can double up as fruit baskets and trays for dry grains. They come in different patterns and sizes and customisable to the client’s preference.
Maintenance:
Papyrus products are strong and versatile, yet, like most fibres, very sensitive to heavy moisture exposure. As such, we recommend keeping the items in a dry, well aerated areas that minimise contact with water. In the event they do get into contact with water, please dry them as soon as possible.
To remove stain, dry the stain, if the stainer is solid (mud or food), scrub off with a soft scrubber, before dubbing the affected area with a damp cloth. Dry the items to remove all moisture.
Palm Leaf
Our palm leaf products come from the palm tree, mostly grown along dry river beds in Kitui and Tharaka Counties in Kenya . The leaves are harvested from palm trees once the leaves reach a pre-defined maturation period, allowing their regeneration and sustainable harvesting. The freshly harvested palm leaves are further scrapped to have individual leaflets, which are further cut into smaller weaveable strands.
Given the flexibility of the green stripped leaflets, a range of products are feasible. These range from Moses/Baby cots and Changing baskets, storage baskets, table mats, coasters and handbags- all customizable to a client’s preference. Given the density per square inch of the fibre in comparison to individual sisal strands, dying only happens with a select few colors given the palms absorption ability.
Maintenance
Once dry, the palm products are sturdy and durable. Palm leaf products are easy to break due to their sturdiness when unnecessary pressure is placed on them. We advise against placing/storing the items in places where they will be squashed against other harder household items.
If the varied items get wet, place them in an open dry space environment, preferably under a tree, where they can dry away from direct sunlight. Too much sunlight will lead to degradation of the material.
Kitchenware
Our range of wooden kitchenware are made from sustainable, locally sourced Olive trees. They range from various functional usage as tea and coffee spoons, salad and serving spoons, bowls, bread pans, among others, and infused with bone, all to the client’s preference. These items give your table set up an authentic feel.
Maintenance
To maintain the shine, polish your utensil gently – after a month or two of usage – by applying a small quantity of liquid cooking oil on a soft brush or cotton cloth and rubbing the wooden utensils with it. After, let it dry.
PS: It is normal for the items to look washed up (ashy) after being washed severally as the soap removes the oil that gives the wood items the shinny look. Additionally, avoid scrubbing using iron/steel wool.