More about the handcrafts…
These handcrafts are lovingly made by the women and men in Muko Sub County, Uganda. Here is information about the four types of handcrafts we have.
Handmade Woven Items
Hundreds of years of design go into these woven items. Each takes anywhere from 2-3 days to a full week to make. The women begin by going down to Lake Bunyonyi to cut papyrus, strip it, coil it and begin to weave their beautiful and functional wares using a simple iron nail instrument. Whether you need a basket, tray, or bowl for yourself or want to give one to a friend, know that you will likely be providing tuition for a woman’s child through your purchase.
Sewn Items
All our beautiful sewn items use fabric from Uganda. Many of our items are sewn by the women in our MEP Program. Some items are sewn by volunteers in the US. The sewing volunteers in the US also create videos of the patterns and the items being sewn which is uploaded to a cloud-based storage so that the women in Uganda can view them to learn the new patterns.
Wood Carvings
These carvings are hand made by men from the local wood in the Muko region. We are still building this program with the men.
Jewelry
Our MEP women make beautiful jewelry out of paper beads. They being by rolling the paper like a crescent roll, shellacking the individual beads, and then stringing them into necklaces, bracelets and earrings. In between they use seed beads to accentuate the colors.