00:00Ever heard of the African version of Etsy? No? Then this woman is going to change
00:05that because Caroline Nanga is planning to do just that with Crafts with
00:09Meaning. The importance of the craftsmanship actually was to preserve
00:13skills that were dying in the community because most of the people who do this
00:18are older, older in age, older women. Encouraging younger people to learn how
00:25to do these things is a way we preserve what has been passed down through
00:29generations. Let's find out exactly how Caroline, who was named one of Business
00:33Daily's top 40 under 40 women in 2018, is trying to preserve Kenyan cultural
00:39craftsmanship. Before we get to know why she wants to connect these products to a
00:44wider market, let's see how hard it actually is to empower underserved
00:48artisans. There are complexities that come with dealing with artisans. First, most of
00:53them are not within the city. They are in all these far-flang areas. They have
00:58certain levels of exposure, so you have to bring all of them to a platform where
01:02now you can engage, where they can appreciate what you're trying to do with
01:07the designs, with the colors. Secondly, of course, you start a business because
01:11you're passionate about what you want to do, then you realize that it actually is a
01:15very expensive venture. In 2018, armed with a degree in statistics, Caroline Nganga founded
01:21Crafts with Meaning, with a clear mission to empower local artisans by giving their
01:26products greater visibility. It's a very good experience working with Caroline. You can learn a lot
01:33from her and that is why I have been here for the longest time. As empowered, I've been able to pay my bills
01:42and also to, I have gained a lot of knowledge in terms of stitching and craft work.
01:52With the strengthening of local production came the desire to position Kenyan craftsmanship on the
01:58global market. But how did Caroline manage to further attract global consumers?
02:03We started by just profiling ourselves as a certain kind of business, looking to take Kenyan craftsmanship
02:10around the world for people who appreciate that. And at the beginning, it was just through our messaging,
02:17what we say we are, what we are doing and where we are trying to sell our products. Along the way,
02:22we have had the opportunity to showcase our products in various global platforms. We have on several
02:29occasions been part of trade fairs in the United States where we try to get customers who can support
02:36us to distribute our products, our artisan products to the markets where they are. And this has supported us
02:42to not just be here locally, but to be a brand that is visible around the world. Kenya is mostly known
02:49safe for the Maasai. And we incorporate skills from the Maasai in some of the things that we do,
02:55the prints that we use for some of our production, beadwork in some of our products. And this is
03:02something that helps identify Kenya as a frontier that still has a cultural heritage preserved.
03:09What began as a small initiative grew into an economic lifeline for over 300 artisans across Kenya.
03:16Joining Caroline's platform means sustainable income while preserving cultural craftsmanship.
03:22But how exactly does she select the craftspeople whose products she makes available to a broader market?
03:28So how we select the artisans that we work with is mostly by referral. Our initial artisans
03:34were those that I had met in the course of my previous work. And mostly for them it was trying
03:39to sell around the tourism hotspot. And so I started with those ones that I use.
03:45Everything we come up with, we try to see from the onset, how can we incorporate environmentally
03:53sustainable raw materials into the products? And then who will make it? And in what design? So all that is
04:00done here at our workshop. And then we distribute these designs to the artisans to do the trial.
04:06And we start off with small batches. So once we do the small batches and put them out in the market,
04:11we test and see if people like and appreciate those batches. And then we keep producing as long as the
04:18market is still demanding for this product. The artisans we work with are divided into two groups. So we have
04:25independent artisans who work from their homes. And those ones make mostly home decor items. They
04:32include wall decoration, table decorations, organizers and things like that. We also have another group
04:38of artisans who we call in-house artisans. They work here from our workshop in Nairobi. And this one
04:46mostly do tailoring of various designs that we work with, corporate giftings, corporate giveaways.
04:52Becoming the African equivalent of the market-leading online arts and crafts platform, Etsy, is not
04:58possible without strong partnerships. How did Caroline manage to find backers despite the initial
05:04teething problems? When you start, usually you're by yourself. But as you make progress, for us it took
05:11about two years for us to start being really visible and for partnerships to come rolling in. So very early
05:18in the business, in the first three years we were able to serve organizations like the World Bank, UNEP, UN Women,
05:28and these organizations helped others to see us in that light. As crafts have always had a meaning, Caroline's
05:36online and offline platform now makes the Kenyan goods known and purchasable worldwide for the benefit of the
05:42local and global community.
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