The Basket That Saved Zawadisha
It started with a sisal basket
For years, sisal baskets were a small side note to our real work. We'd bring a few back from Kenya and sell them at our fundraising events. They were woven by the very same women who receive our loans, and people always loved them.
Then the pandemic hit in 2020. We lost most of our donors, we couldn't hold events anymore, and our team in Kenya was counting on us. One day, walking through the Riverside Farmers Market in Reno, it dawned on our founder: maybe her calling was to sell baskets out of the side of a van in a parking lot. So she did, and she became The Basket Lady.
It worked. Buying baskets gave the weavers a new source of income, and every sale funded more loans. One farmers market became two, then an online shop, then our Shop Within a Shop at Wyld Market in Reno. Those baskets saved Zawadisha, and that simple idea still runs everything we do.
Who weaves Zawadisha's sisal baskets?
Our sisal baskets are handwoven by women in Taita Taveta County, Kenya, the same community where we provide loans. Today more than 1,000 women weave with us and our partner Hadithi. Each basket carries its weaver's name, handwritten on a scrap of cardboard attached to the basket, so you know exactly who made yours.
Every basket is one of a kind. The weaver chooses the pattern and the colors, so no two are alike, and the basket in the photo is the basket you'll get.
What happens when you buy one?
Your purchase does two things. First, the woman who made it is paid. Second, it funds our microlending program, which gives women in rural Kenya small loans for the things that change a household overnight:
- A rainwater tank saves a woman up to 20 hours a week of walking to collect water.
- A solar lamp replaces toxic kerosene, and the money she used to spend on fuel goes to school fees and food.
- A clean cookstove uses less firewood and fills her home with less smoke.
- Home and business upgrades like iron roofing sheets, mattresses, and sewing machines turn a mud-brick house into a safer home and help small businesses get started.
We deliver each item to her home, and she pays the loan back over time. Then the money is lent again to the next woman. Women borrow through women's groups, so members support each other through repayment. Since our microlending began in 2004, we have reached more than 2,500 women in more than 100 women's groups.
From one basket to artisans across Africa
The basket was just the beginning. Today our shop carries handmade goods from artisans and small businesses across Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Eswatini and South Africa:
- Jewelry: Brass and silver earrings and necklaces from Cape Town, and recycled paper pulp earrings from Eswatini.
- Home decor: Upcycled glass jars and vases from Zanzibar, sisal and sweetgrass bowls from Rwanda, and wool felt bowls from South Africa.
- Kitchen and dining: Hand-carved olive wood spoons from Nairobi and handwoven organic cotton napkins from Kenya.
- Bath and body: Natural soaps and solid perfumes made by hand on Lamu Island, Kenya.
We prioritize women-owned businesses that pay fairly. But the idea is the same as it was with that first basket: Every purchase funds our microlending program in Kenya.
Why handmade matters
A handmade piece carries the skill, time, and story of the person who made it. Many of our goods carry traditions passed down through generations, like basket weaving among Taita women in southeastern Kenya. When there's a market for these skills, artisans can earn a living from them, and younger makers have a reason to learn. Buying their work keeps those traditions alive.
Frequently asked questions
Where are Zawadisha's sisal baskets made?
In Taita Taveta County, in southeastern Kenya, by women who are part of the same community that receives Zawadisha's loans.
Does buying from Zawadisha help women in Kenya?
Yes. Zawadisha is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a Candid Gold Seal of Transparency, and every purchase funds its microlending program for women in rural Kenya.
What does Zawadisha sell besides baskets?
Handmade jewelry, home decor, kitchen and dining goods, and natural bath and body products from artisans across Africa.
Shop sisal baskets · Shop all handmade goods