This simple tote bag made of a strong wax-print kitenge fabric will hold your shopping or carry your laptop, books, or workout gear. Kitenge is a traditional Ugandan fabric known for its big patterns and bright colours. The bag has one internal pocket for storing smaller items. The length of the handles is just right for wearing the bag over your shoulder.
By purchasing this bag, you support both women’s entrepreneurship and an environmentally friendly lifestyle, decreasing the use of plastic bags. Good for you, good for nature, good for the Ugandan artisans!
Dimensions: 35cm x 40cm
Material: Cotton kitenge cloth.
The fabrics may bleed. Wash separately at 30°C.
About The Artisans: Kampala Disabled Initiative is a group of physically handicapped women with great skills in tailoring and crafts making in the capital Kampala. The women regularly take in new handicapped girls as trainees to teach them sewing skills. Many of the products are developed in cooperation with Estonian fashion designers and volunteers. Each product is handmade, often by women who lack basic numeracy skills and cannot use a tape measure. However, they put all their love and care into each product. We hope that you find the tiny variations in size, pattern, and colours as part of the charm of the product!
"Mamaa" means "Fair/Equal"
The word "mamaa" means "fair/equal" in the local Napti language of Nabdam District in Northern Ghana where our shea producers and basket weavers live. The logo of Mamaa is inspired by the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol "Fawohodie" which stands for "independence, freedom and emancipation". We believe in fair trade and direct links with our trading partners.
We market products from women's cooperatives in Africa and Asia to support entrepreneurial women around the world and give them a better income. At the same time, we offer our Canadian customers unique and quality products that bring about positive change.
Mamaa Trade was founded in 2018 by Johanna Helin who has years of experience in development work in international organizations and NGOs. The aim of Mamaa Trade is to market sustainable and quality products from women's cooperatives that Johanna has previously worked with. A big part of our work is to support women to develop their businesses, to improve and check the quality of their products and to ensure that the production methods are environmentally sustainable.
We believe that ethical trading is a sustainable way to secure poor women's fair incomes through their work, better opportunities to care for their families and more say in the family and community. We offer the consumers the knowledge that the products they consume are socially and ecologically sustainable and make a difference in the lives of the producers. We guarantee that the prices we pay to the producers are counted in a way that they cover all the expenses of the production and offer at least the local minimum salary for the working hours. In addition, 15% of the profit (after taxes) is directed back to the communities.