The ladies of Kideloni women's group make baskets from indigenous palm leaves grown in Kajire (Sagalla Hill). The further finishing with fabric, leather or beads makes these baskets very practical and pretty.
ABOUT THE LADIES
ABOUT THE BASKETS
The ladies of Kideloni Women’s Group live in Kajire and weave mkeka leaves into baskets. Kajire is a relatively new settlement, only 45 years old, and lies at the base of Sagalla hill near Voi town. Most inhabitants are Duruma, which is one of the smaller sub-tribes of the Mijikenda who live in Kenya’s coast province.
People in Kajire have limited access to water, and, like most Mijikenda, rely on subsistence farming. Unfortunately there is insufficient rainfall in Kajire, so crops often fail.
In October 2012 the ladies of Kideloni started weaving baskets together as a women’s group, to generate an income to improve their lives and to earn money to send their children and/or grandchildren to school. Weaving this type of baskets goes a long way back in history and is a tradition of the Mijikenda tribe.
This ideal shopping or laundry basket is woven from Mkeka (actually the local name for this material is Magangachi), a type of indigenous palm that grows on Sagalla hill. After buying the baskets from the Women’s groups, we take them to the Hadithi Crafts HQ and assure the further finishing.
The Leather shopper is finished with round leather handles. we bring the baskets to Voi, our nearest town, to be finished by a talented leather craftsman called Ezra.
in 2021 we are providing training in this fine local style of weaving in four more women groups, as orders are picking up for this fine quality light baskets!