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Jump down to Kenyan Beaded Bowls & Boxes
An amazing woman in Kenya, Pauline Ntombura, is the inspiration behind these wonderful soapstone products.
Pauline grew up as the daughter of a tribal chief in the village of Kisii in southwest Kenya.
Bucking the tradition that women stay in the home, Pauline obtained her education. Later she
established a soapstone workshop which now employs more than 800 people (about 50% are women).
The fair wages Pauline pays ensures the artisans can afford
decent housing, education for their children and basic healthcare.
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock consisting mostly of the mineral talc. Sometimes known as steatite,
it's very soft and frequently used for sculpting. When they mine the soapstone they essentially dig a big pit in the ground (maybe 50-75 feet in diameter) using picks
and shovels. The earth isn't gouged by heavy machinery.
When the soapstone items are painted, sometimes the natural color and lines of the stone's minerals show through.
Soapstone Hearts
What a beautiful and meaningful shape the heart is! You'll love the soft, smooth feel of the soapstone surface.
These hearts are a great gift for someone you love. Perfect to hold and use as a worry-stone, paperweight, make a collection
and display in a basket, ...
These Kenyan soapstone hearts come in 3 sizes and in a variety of colors. Larges are about 4", Smalls are about
2" and the fun mini's are about 1".
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Hearts on Hearts!
Not only does the soapstone heart shape say "I love you!", but the many hearts painted on
it say it over and over (and under).
Choose from 3 great colors - Pink, Purple or Red. |
Small
SO:HEART-2IN-HOH |
$8.00 |
About 2" |
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Large
SO:HEART-4IN-HOH |
$12.00 |
About 4" |
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 Mini Soapstone Hearts $6.00
We're offering some new designs in our popular mini heart size - about 1".
Hand carved and painted, they're the perfect small "thank you" gift; or
get a handful for decoration in a basket around your home or office.
Clockwise from Top Left: Love,
Pink Striped, Red Heart Outline, and Zebra Stripes.
SO:HEART-MINI-design
(Sorry - Love and Heart Outline styles are out of stock.)
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(left) Flowers with Teardrops
(above) Little Flower Outlines
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Flowered Soapstone Hearts
These flowering designs are available in both large and small sizes. |
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Large
SO:HEART-large-flower |
$12.00 |
About 4" |
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Small
SO:HEART-small-flower |
$8.00 |
About 3" |
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3 Tribal Painted Soapstone Designs
Abstracts, Stars, and Split Hearts
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Small: $8.00
About 2"
SO:HEART-2INTRB-design
Large: $12.00
About 4"
SO:HEART-4INTRB-design
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When soapstone is painted, sometimes the natural coloring changes of the stone
shows through, so you may see that as light lines.
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The African villagers retain all of the fill, so when they have extracted the soapstone, they refill the pit.
After 5-10 years the soapstone begins to re-form, and so new soapstone becomes available
The local people who own the land actually live on it -- their houses are next to the pits and they are
paid by the kilo for the soapstone that is removed.
Their property is very valuable, so the houses stay within the families, and the
people are very motivated to keep the land in good condition.
In general, the men do the mining, carving and painting, and the women do the
sanding, polishing, washing and packing.
Pauline and the Kenyan artisans thank you for your support and your interest in their
soapstone creations.
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Black and White Designs
These striking black and white designs are available in both Large and Small sizes.
Sure to complement any decor.
And if you're looking for more black and white hearts, we also have a zebra design in
the fun mini size. |
White with Black Spirals |
White with Varying Black Dots |
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Small
SO:HEART-2IN-design |
$8.00 |
About 2" |
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Large
SO:HEART-4IN-design |
$12.00 |
About 4" |
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Additional Soapstone Hearts |
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Maroon with Speckles |
Orange with Spirals |
Red with Speckles |
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Small
SO:HEART-S-design |
$8.00 |
About 2" |
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Large
SO:HEART-L-design |
$12.00 |
About 4" |
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Circle of Friends Candle Holder
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$18.00 About 2.75" w x 3.25" high
(Sorry - natural is out of stock.)
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The arms of these friends are joined together, having been carved from one piece of soapstone.
A perfect gift to show your friends that they're important in your life.
Tea Lights
Standard size tea lights (not included) will fit our soapstone tea light carvings.
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Tea Light Balls $9.00
These new purple or green tea light spheres are tastefully decorated with nature's vines.
SO:TEABALL-color 3" diameter
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Heart Tea Light $12.00 |
Green TEA-Heart-GR
Rich TEA-Heart-R
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2.75" wide x 3.5" long x 2.5" high
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Tribal Design Tea Lights
$9.00 each
About 3" diameter and 1" high.
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Additional Soapstone Carvings
(Please also see our Decorative Soapstone Box page!
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Friendship Knot $18.00
Black KNTFRN-BK
(Sorry - black is out of stock.)
Natural KNTFRN-N
2.75" w x 4" high
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Mother and Child |
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Medium: $18.00
2.5" w x 4" high
(Sorry - black is out of stock.)
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Small: $10.00
1.5" w x 3.5" high
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Soapstone Hippopotamus |
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Each hippo is hand-carved and cute as a button.
They're available in Black, Blue and Red in small or large sizes.
SO:HIPPO-size-color
(Sorry - all the hippos are out of stock.)
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Large Hippo $12.00
Small Hippo $6.00
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Kenyan Beaded Bowls and Boxes
Ol Malo Designs is a company owned and run by Julia Francombe that provides employment
and help for the Samburu people in Kenya, and develops their talents through art.
Julia employs more than 100 Samburu women who do the incredible beadwork, a native skill.
These Kenyan beaded products are sold locally in the Ol Malo Designs shop, and internationally
through distribution partners.
This bead work provides the Samburus with employment and income and encourages them to
promote their timeless talents.
During the severe drought in 2000, Ol Malo fed over 200 families who had lost all their livestock -
and were literally starving -- through the sales of these products.
To help address and prevent disasters like this, Julia created the Ol Malo Trust which has grown
into a pioneering community charity, building a bustling nursery school, protecting several water
sources, organizing mobile health clinics, and supporting the Ol Malo Eye Project to eradicate
trachoma in one of the most remote regions of Africa.
Trachoma is an infectious eye disease that affects more than 80% of adults over the age of 30.
It is a preventable disease, the root of which is poverty.
Supported by product sales and fundraising efforts such as the Nairobi marathon,
Ol Malo has funded more than 200 surgical procedures to return sight and remove pain;
established nurse-led community education;
begun the provision of clean water and has developed links with and training of Kenyan Ophthalmologists.
Holiday Samburu Table Setting Package!
Bring Ol Malo ambiance into your home with this limited edition
Holiday Samburu Table Setting Package!
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Each set includes:
All pieces are beautifully wrapped in a banana fiber box. |
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Each piece
is hand-beaded with care by the Samburu women of the Sampiripiri Arts workshop, Ol Malo.
By creating a beautiful Samburu-style holiday at home,
you will bestow a wonderful gift on the Samburu people and provide them with a very Merry Christmas!
Your purchase of a beaded Table Setting Package will provide a Samburu woman with three weeks work and enable her to give her family a fabulous Christmas feast
and many of life's necessities. To the left is a close-up of a napkin ring.
This package is on sale!
Normally $695, your price will be just $350!
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(This offer is limited to the quantities currently in stock. Wholesale clients, please contact us for pricing.) |
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Sets of 3 Nesting Beaded Boxes
These cylinder boxes with lids have so many uses - declutter your desk or
dresser, collect change, ... and they're ever so decorative.
Plus they help struggling Samburu artisans.
They're available either as a set of 3 nesting boxes in either a large or small size.
See an article about our partner, EDImports, in the
Fall 2005 issue of Town & Country Travel, which
publicized these Kenyan Beaded Boxes.
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Set of 3 Large
Kenyan Beaded Boxes |
4-6" nesting diameter/height
KB-BOX-SET-3-L |
$88.00 |
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Set of 3 Small
Kenyan Beaded Boxes
Sorry - Blue is out of stock.
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2-4" nesting diameter/height
KB-BOX-SET-3-S |
$47.00 |
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The production of these beaded items contributed to the
receipt of ‘Overall Joint Winner’,
along with
‘Best for Poverty Reduction’ in the highly competitive
First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards given to organizations that are making a
significant commitment to responsible tourism.
As the event organizer explained,
"They value, most highly of all, their interaction with the community through the women and children who come to Ol Malo to produce beadwork and paintings.
This a chance for Ol Malo to see if they are achieving their aim for the community: to contribute to the preservation of the
Samburu people in such a way that the Samburus are independent, strong and empowered to live their lives in the
way that they strongly desire and choose."
Learn More...
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Kenyan Glass Beaded Bowls
These beautiful beaded bowls can be purchased as a set of 3 nesting bowls in two sizes, or just a single bowl.
Sizes and designs will vary somewhat.
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Set of 3 Large
Kenyan Nesting Beaded Bowls
$70.00
About 4" - 5" in diameter.
KB-BOWL-SET-3-L
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Set of 3 Small
Kenyan Nesting Beaded Bowls
$44.00
KB-BOWL-SET-3-S
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One
Kenyan Beaded Bowl
$28.00
KB-BOWL-1
(Sorry - out of stock)
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For your surfing enjoyment... From the November 2007 issue of Travel and Leisure magazine, you might wish to read a great article entitled Women at Work "Traveling to Kenya and India,
Shane Mitchell visits four collectives that are keeping
handicraft traditions alive - and entire cultures thriving - while offering new opportunities to the women who belong to them."
This article includes a personal description of visiting a beading workshop called Sampiripiri
(Samburu for "butterfly"), at Julia Francombe's family farm, Ol Malo, in Kenya.
Learn what the bead colors in Samburu jewelry mean, and get some insight into the
women artisans' minds and culture.
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43 Ellicott Ave 