Artisanne Mini Baba

From the outset Artisanne’s vision was to create baskets that were timeless, sustainable and designed for longevity whilst providing consistent year-round work for our weavers.
Artisanne now works directly with over 100 weavers having started with 3. Avoiding middlemen, helps provide a regular and secure income and gives them access to an international market that they would not otherwise be able to reach. The women tell us that the additional income earned from weaving for Artisanne allows them to support extended family members, especially elderly relatives who are dependent on them, as well as provide much needed medicine for the children.
Artisanne supplies the weavers with materials wherever possible and gives them cash advances on orders, the balance being paid upon receipt of the order. Artisanne sends orders directly to the weavers and also collects the baskets from the villages saving them precious time thus enabling them to earn more money. Our regular supply chain and collections provide financial security, even during the ongoing turmoil of Covid. This means the weavers no longer have to travel up to 9km each way to the weekly market and are no longer vulnerable to the inconsistent profits, reduced by time and cost of transport of selling just a few baskets.

Empowerment
Artisanne is constantly striving to empower the weavers more and to give them more opportunity. We have been working with a number of women training them to manage a group of weavers themselves. We have taught them basic management skills such as briefing, quality control requirements, timing and financial planning. These women coach the other weavers in creating weaving of exceptional quality. The feedback from the women is that they enjoy the responsibility and the opportunity to generate more income. They are paid an additional sum for each basket they oversee.

Journey to Learning
Artisanne donates 10% of all profits to ‘Journey to Learning’ which we launched in 2018 to provide transport to and from school for weavers’ children who used to have to walk the 10km round trip in 40C temperatures. During the pandemic it became apparent that ‘Journey to Learning’ funds would be more useful paying for school supplies and for the last two academic years Artisanne has supplied 220 weavers’ children with school essentials including geometry sets, pens and stationery.

Certifications and Awards
• Artisanne is proud to have been a member of BAFTS – Fair Trade Network UK - since 2018 recognising our approach to business and working with the weavers.
• Artisanne won Gold at Global Good Awards for the Best Product of the Year 2021
• Artisanne was a Global Impact Award finalist at the Blue Patch Sustainable Awards 2019
• Artisanne is thrilled to have qualified for the ‘BuyMeOnce’ – the conscious buying website acknowledging the sustainability or our homeware.