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The main goal of EILAF is to uplift and bring to light the fine craftsmanship done in the depths of East African artisanal communities.
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SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION
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When centering our brand on sustainable practices of using renewable, natural resources and fair trade practices, the process felt organic. East African art inherently obeys the laws of sustainable practices since it is an art form that expresses a tribe’s connection to nature. In that sense, coil-stitch weaving was created to be versatile depending on a tribe’s movement across the region and their access to different natural resources.
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ARTISANAL PROCESS
STEP ONE: Collecting Plant Fibers
The basket weavers collect plant fibers that are native to the Rwenzori Mountains to make sustainable materials for the basket art. They begin by collecting banana stalks and stripping them of their leaves before cutting the leaves into smaller strips for the weaving process.
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STEP TWO: Creating Natural Dyes
They begin by smashing black stalks sourced from a lake-side quarry near the mountains for mordanting. They use marigolds, indigo, cosmos & madder flowers to create a vibrant dye to dye the raffia used for weaving.
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STEP THREE: Weaving the Disks
Each weaver spends about three days to create one basket art disk that is used for our handbags. Since each disk is handwoven, there might be slight variations in the design but all of them carry the same amount of love and craftsmanship.
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STEP FOUR: Handcrafting with Leather
The basket art disks are sent to our craftsmen in a small village in Andalusia, Spain, that specializes in leather craftsmanship. The basket art discs are then assembled with our leather bags. Each bag takes about eight hours to cut and stitch by the hands of our leather craftsmen. The artisans in Spain take care of each basket art disk to uphold its weaving integrity and bring union to the Spanish and Ugandan craftsmanship that each bag holds.
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Click here to LEARN MORE about the inspiration behind our unique bags.