Out of Africa
Fancy a fair-trade basket? A gorgeous new tote? A cozy, hand-knit scarf? How about a trio of Nicole Miller bangles?
There’s really only one way that you can get all three (and much, much more): Indego Africa. And as amazing as these fair-trade, handmade items are, it’s the story behind them that knocks our mass-marketed bracelets off.
Indego stands for “independence, development, and governance”—three life-changing attributes that Indego Africa is helping instill in 250 Rwandan women in order to lift them and their families out of poverty. Most of the women made less than $1 a day performing tasks such as carrying buckets of water before getting involved with Indego Africa. Now, organized into five for-profit cooperatives, these talented women are plugged into training programs and export markets that have them selling their hand-sewn cosmetics cases, woven plateau baskets, banana table runners and more—earning more than five times than what they used to.
It’s hard to choose a favorite: the plateau baskets, which take up to seven days to create? The hand-stitched woven bangles in vibrant African fabrics that Nicole Miller created in partnership with the Cocoki and Covanya co-ops? The fair trade knit hood sold by Anthropologie? No matter what floats your boat, 100% of the profits are returned to the artisans for training in long-term skills.
And that is something to celebrate—because empowering women never goes out of style.