Afri-root Collective / Ritah Nakandi

Country: East Africa, Uganda

Tribal affiliation: Baganda and Acholi

How to purchase:
Website: www.afri-rootcollective.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Afri.Root.Collective/
Instagram: afrirootcollective
Email: info@afri-rootcollective.com
Phone: 978-930-1502

Bio:

Ritah Nakandi is a social entrepreneur that is a great advocate of women’s empowerment. She is originally from Uganda and came to the United States 11 years ago for her graduate studies. While in Uganda, Ritah was in an organization that empowered women to run their small businesses. They educated the women in both rural and urban settings on how to manage their businesses, finances and guided them on opening bank accounts as well as matching them with mico-finance institutions. Presently, she works with women in Buganda and Acholi region. In 2013, Ritah graduated with a Masters degree in Business Management from Cambridge College. Having associated herself with artisans in Uganda, Ritah developed a passion for helping them by finding a market for their handicrafts internationally. Afri-root Collective was concepted to provide a much needed avenue of sales for the unique products handcrafted by these women.

Barkcloth is processed from the inner bark of the Mutuba tree. The bark is harvested during the wet season, and can be harvested continuously for over 40 years without causing harm to the tree. Through a long and strenuous process, the bark is beaten with wooden mallets till it possesses a soft and fine texture. The shade of the barkcloth is determined by the level of exposure to sunlight, the more exposure to the sun the darker the cloth. In 2005 the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed Uganda’s barkcloth “a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity”.

Items Sold: Mutuba (moo-too-bah) Bark Cloth, Handbags, Accessories, Home Decor