Bags in dyed banana fibre

Stunning modern colours and all made from the stems of the banana trees which abound in Rwanda.

The bags are lined with fabric and have a draw-string closure.

Bowls

These durable bowls are made from sisal and wild grasses.  They come in diameters of 17, 30 and 41cm.  Here is a 41cm bowl - the tea colour is made by boiling the threads in...tea! 

Here is Specioza with a bowl she has almost finished:

This is a popular design:

The bowls are made by YWCA members and also by YWCA beneficiaries living with HIV.

Jewellery: necklaces

Necklaces from recycled calendars.  Yes, really! 

Jewellery: ear rings

These ear rings are made from sisal in many designs, colours and sizes.  The sisal is grown by the artisans or their neighbours and the women harvest and prepare it themselves.

Jewellery: wooden bangles

These bangles are made from Jacaranda wood by the Urugero Group of YWCA members in Eastern Rwanda.  They currently ask a neighbour's permission to fell a tree for the wood but they are growing their own plantation of Jacaranda too, though it is not yet ready for harvesting.  The bangles come in a variety of sizes to be worn on your wrist or, as Rwandan women do, further up your arm.