Imani Workshop

We were in Mombasa a couple of weeks ago on holiday. Mary, our friend, bought a cute pencil holder made out of recycled paper. We noticed on the bottom it was labeled Imani Workshops Eldoret. Eldoret is a town only about an hour away.

When we got home John started an internet search to find out more about this Imani Workshop. (Imani means faith in Kiswahili.) He found them on the web and sent an email. It was answered by someone in the States! They gave him a phone number in Kenya and directions to find the workshop.

Last week we went to Eldoret and decided to stop by. Imani Workshop is an amazing place. It provides income generating opportunities for HIV positive women doing handicrafts. They receive references from doctors and social workers when they find women who are not able to purchase food and medicine for themselves. Imani takes 30 women a month and train them for three months on papermaking, bead making, tailoring and jewelry making. During this time they also offer business training. At the end of the three months, these women are then able to either do piecework to sell at the Imani Workshop outlets or go into business for themselves.

We got a wonderful tour of the workshop and of course bought several items in their gift shop. If you’d like to find out more information about them you can visit their webite: www.imaniworkshops.org They are in partnership with USAID and AMPATH.

We were able to watch them make recycled paper. They make two kinds: one out of recycled paper only and the other from papyrus. Here is how it is done:
First, they tear the recycled paper into strips and small bits. Then they add water. Here she is holding a piece of papyrus before it is shredded.

The next step is to pound it into pulp.

Now they pour the pulp into pans. Using a screen they filter out the solid matter that will become the new paper.

The new paper is removed from the screen on toweling to remove excess water.

The new sheets of paper are arranged on formica to dry. This can take several days to a week or more depending on the weather.

After drying it is ready to be cut and shaped to make cards, picture frames, notebooks, stationary, bowls, etc.