“Shopping is actually very similar to farming a field. You can't keep buying the same thing, you have to have a bit of variety. Otherwise you get bored and stop enjoying yourself."
— Sophie Kinsella (Confessions of a Shopaholic)
I don’t know that I’d consider myself a shopaholic, but I certainly have a shopping “problem” so to speak. This is not a buying issue as I can enjoy just looking. But on this day I did both.
Our group of four (Gwenn, Elena, Sevdana, and me) planned to do some serious shopping by visiting two women’s sewing cooperatives. First, though we stopped at Frulep, a local grocery store with a fresh fruit and vegetable section, along with a bakery next door. We all picked up a bit of something, and then headed over to a nearby small craft store. (Note: When you don't have a car and someone says, "want to stop at a grocery" you always say yes!) ![]()
Our group of four (Gwenn, Elena, Sevdana, and me) planned to do some serious shopping by visiting two women’s sewing cooperatives. First, though we stopped at Frulep, a local grocery store with a fresh fruit and vegetable section, along with a bakery next door. We all picked up a bit of something, and then headed over to a nearby small craft store. (Note: When you don't have a car and someone says, "want to stop at a grocery" you always say yes!)
Bingo! The room was small, but packed from top to bottom with wooden carved masks, baskets, fabrics, dolls, jewelry, clothing, and so on. We all made purchases, but far and away I ended up with the largest haul: several woven baskets, trivets, and a variety of fabric items.
The woman in the store spoke French so Gwenn did some bargaining on my behalf. She allowed me to take her picture on the condition I would bring her a copy. (Which I will do.)
Next we stopped at the first cooperative, Amani ya Juu headquartered in Nairobi, with centers in Rwanda and Brundi. Amani ya Juu means “higher peace” in Swahili while at the Rwanda shop they say Amahoro ava Hejuru in Kinyarwanda.
As we approached the front of the converted house, we saw several women hard at work sewing on machines that looked circa 1950s or older. (Mom and Stef, remember that black Singer machine?) Walking around the back though a beautifully maintained garden we entered the show rooms.
These contained many, many types of purses and bags from very small to huge, clothing for women and children, quilts, wall hangings, stuffed toys (there was the cutest bag that held a stuffed zebra, elephant, giraffe and other animals, along with a palm tree), aprons, placemats, napkins, etc. The decision was difficult, but I finally managed to make a selection and here are a few samples.
Our second cooperative was Ineza. Unfortunately, they had very little for sale as they had sent off most of their stock to a local craft exposition. I did manage to make a couple of purchases and also got a picture of the group. Again, Gwenn helped us out as in exchange for pictures, the women wanted to talk to us a bit and French was the common language.
These cooperatives were formed to either help women widowed due to the genocide or who contracted HIV/AIDS from the rapes they endured. I found these ladies amazing and inspiring, their faith in God sustains them and the work gives them a sense of worth not to mention a livelihood. Every penny spent felt well worth it to me. And if you would like to see or purchase items, below are links to two sites to help you do a bit of shopping yourself.
Love those bags! (My weakness...) Thanks for sharing your shopping finds. --Liz
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