Soapstone   |   Beaded Items   |   Handbags

While Kisii is famous for soapstone, the northern part of Kenya, in particular Samburuland, is best known for amazing beadwork. The Samburu people wear beads to commemorate all significant events in their lives. The colorful necklaces, bracelets, and headdresses tell elaborate stories of individual and family history.

Julia Francombe, a life-long Kenyan is the founder of Ol Malo Designs and the accompanying Ol Malo Trust. Her workshop provides employment opportunities and free healthcare services to the Samburu and Julia also runs an art center where children paint while on school holidays. More than 100 women create incredible beaded bowls, tablemats, napkin rings and even lampshades and larger household pieces at this workshop.

In addition to employment, in 2000, in response to a severe drought that devastated Samburuland, Ol Malo created a trust to support the Samburu people. A pioneering community charity, the Ol Malo trust has built a busy nursery school, protected several Samburu water sources, and organized mobile health clinics in what is one of the most remote corners of Kenya. Profits from the sale of products made by the Samburu are put into the trust along with money raised from solicitations and fundraising events such as an annual marathon in Nairobi each October.