Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Drane.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
SAWA SAWA was a happy accident. I had moved to the USA some years prior. I missed home. I called my mom and asked her to buy some bags, shoes, and earrings unique to Kenya in the village markets. Soon, the women were seeking her out asking her to buy their crafts because they needed school fees, medicine, food, etc. I bought whatever they had to help. I gave them to friends and sold the extra online. It became a hobby business. Years later, I became a stay-at-home mom. I reconnected with an old high school classmate, Catherine on Facebook. She lived in Kenya and was passionate about helping the women find an outlet for their craft. I lived in Austin and needed someone to help coordinate design, sourcing, quality, and more in Kenya. We joined forces in 2017. Sawa Sawa was incorporated as a nonprofit in 2019. Catherine manages our nonprofit efforts in Kenya as the COO. I manage the commerce side in the USA. We have since made our mark as a sustainable, ethically made eco-fashion brand in Austin. We have partnered with various villages in Kenya and several boutiques and stores in the USA. Our mission remains to empower artisan women in Kenya make a sustainable, dignified living using skills handed down through generations.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. Nothing worth having is ever easy. Starting a non-profit/business takes a lot of steps and paperwork. You have to remember to keep on moving forward. Divide the main goal into little goals and remember to stop and celebrate your progress. Having a reminder of why you chose to do what you do helps you stay motivated. For Catherine and I, it has been making an impact for the women in Kenya and teaching our daughters about their roots and heritage.
Funding for businesses has been a struggle. It is hard enough being a black woman-founded business, it is even harder being a social enterprise and a non-profit. We have self-funded by using our savings, loans, and grants. As a going concern, Sawa Sawa is self-sustaining but to grow, we need capital which has been an education. We have partnered with female founder collective and Ifundwomen to raise funds. We hope to learn more about raising capital and welcome any ideas and advice.
Marketing was an eye-opener. We believe in our product and our mission. The women in Kenya inspire us. Spending time with them and learning about the stories behind the colors and patterns is mind-blowing. Passing this along to our customers was harder than expected. We partnered with Amazon, Woocommerce, Faire, Abound, and more to get the product to the end-user but even then, the brand takes a life of its own. It is a fine balance learning to push it forward and giving it space to find its own way. We partnered with Google for nonprofits to advertise and communicate between the continents.
Working in Africa has been a challenge. There are no set rules. We have to learn to listen with empathy and no judgment. We have to remember that our role is to partner with the women and learn from them. Every village has its own way of handling issues, welcoming strangers, and unique challenges facing the people. We learn to roll with the punches and be of service to each village as we are needed.
Growth brings new challenges along the way. Social media, technology, and website designs keep on changing. We have to adapt and change with it. We have partnered with Canva for nonprofits to keep us with these issues and volunteermatch.org to get us the volunteers we need to keep adapting.
We welcome any partnerships that help us grow our brand and impact.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
SAWA SAWA means ‘it will be okay’ in Swahili. We are a sustainable, ethically made, conscious, eco-fashion brand in Austin, Texas handmade by artisan women in Kenya. We harness ancient craftsmanship in weaving, beading, basketry, art, and more by partnering with artisan women in Kenya. They create exquisite, intricately handcrafted bags, accessories, and more the same way their ancestors did thousands of years ago. The materials used are locally sourced from nature, they respect nature and go back into nature at the end of their usefulness. Creating products that are eco-friendly, biodegradable, and circular helps us take care of the environment and leave a better world for future generations.
We specialize in instilling value in the artisan women that create and instilling value in their work. We marry ancient craftsmanship with modern designs to create elegant, graceful, timeless pieces that are also functional.
We are very proud of how far we have come. Slow fashion is fairly new. We have become a part of the campaign for fashion that is good for the artisans that create, the people that use it, the environment, and the process of creation. The fashion industry should be fair to its workers, re-use, re-purpose, recycle and steer towards sustainable solutions.
We are proud of being part of the artisans in Kenya. We are grateful to be of use to them, to live a life of purpose, and to make a difference in the world we were born into.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Covid 19 helped us see that results can be more efficiently achieved. It helped us learn how to plan ahead and be ready for anything. When it hit and travel was restricted, we could not reach our artisans. We learnt that we need to adopt technology even in the most rural villages for communication and money transfer. We have grown as a result and are very grateful to have survived such a trying time. We appreciate our customers for checking in, shopping our brand to help us be useful to the women, and donating to our various programs.
Pricing:
- 125 – Handwoven Sisal Bags
- 32 – Earrings
- 32 – Bracelets
- 50 – 60 wholesale bags
- 7 – 15 wholesale accessories
Contact Info:
- Email: info@sawasawausa.com
- Website: https://sawasawausa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sawasawausa
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sawasawausa
Image Credits
Summer Miles Photography
Francis – Vaa Africa
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