Bombolulu Workshops, Kenya
I love Mombasa. It's really bustling and finally I am warm. Summer has come to Kenya. All around me the Bombolulu workshop artisans are rushing about and busy – some in wheelchairs, some on crutches. The atmosphere is dynamic and people stop to ask a question or two and explain how they are making things.
Bombolulu is in the city of Mombasa, on the coast of Kenya. The workshop, where People Tree produces some of our jewellery, was set up in 1969 as a rehabilitation centre. Thirty-seven years on and the workshop now provides training and work for over 100 adults who are either disabled to obtain the skills necessary to make jewellery, woodcarvings, leather goods or tailoring.
I must tell you about a lady I met named Alice Maundu, as she had such a tremendous effect on me. She is 35 years old and has been in a wheelchair since she was a child. She lost her legs due to polio and has 'soft bones' she says that meant she was unable to bear children of her own. Yet this didn't deter her from becoming a terrific mother, "I like children," she says. She adopted two children at age 1 and age 7, and regularly looks after her niece and her nephew during their school holidays, despite her severe disability. But how did she manage when they were little and juggling a full time job? "I hired a helper," she beams.
With such a disability Alice would have found it very difficult to provide for herself let alone live the full life that looking after children brings. She joined Bombolulu in 1993 and has since been making Fair Trade jewellery, where she earns decently by Kenyan standards. "I feel terrible when I see disabled people in the streets begging," she says. "I am so lucky to be here, safe, secure and with a chance to live a full life." Alice makes me think about a man I saw five years ago in Nairobi, who having suffered polio had lost his legs and had to propel himself on a tray with wheels, between the cars, selling bananas. The danger, the exhaust fumes and his courage, forced by need, will undoubtedly stay with me forever.
In Japan we talk about a barrier-free society – but in the developing world we have a long, long way to go. Not only can Alice and the other 150 fully-salaried artisans rely on a regular income but Bombolulu provides other benefits too. They provide housing for the most severely disabled, medical benefits and offer loans for higher education so that their children can continue their education after age 14.
I sit together with Peter, a 30 year old jewellery maker, who reminds me of a good friend from home. He's really charming! He has been working here for 10 years and is really eager to show me his workmanship and skills. When I admit I don't know what an 'anvil' is he laughs in surprise and patiently explains. He gets out a brass pendant, shaped like a leaf, and explains how using the anvil shapes the centre vein of the leaf. It's beautiful. Look out for it in the Spring/Summer collection next year.
If you'd like to support the Bombolulu artists right now then click here to check out some of their beautifully crafted jewellery.