FAQs

We hope our FAQs answer your question but don't hesitate to contact us if you have more questions.

 

Where are your products made?

All of our products are made in Uganda, East Africa. The majority are made in the capital city of Kampala by a small collective of women known to us personally.

And what about your raw materials, where are they sourced?

For our baskets and woven products our artisans harvest papyrus, the main component, in their local area. The coloured sea grass used to decorate the baskets is also grown in Uganda and is bought from small businesses in Kampala.

For our other products we are careful in our sourcing and are always looking for eco-friendly and ethical options. 

When you talk about a fair wage, is this a living wage?

Some of our artisans are employed and paid a living wage for their work. Others work order to order. When we order products we make sure that the amount paid per item is a living wage for the time taken to make the product. Our artisans then also work for others and pick up odd jobs between their work for Kwagala Co.

And what about your supply chain, are they paid a living wage too?

We are able to hand-pick a lot of our raw materials and to research and pay fair prices for our other materials to ensure they can transfer a fair wage back to the source.

How do you make sure that your products are 'wholeheartedly fair'?

Although no one can ever prove that their products are 100% fair we want you to know that we are 'wholehearted' in our approach. This is so important to us and is really the core value of our whole business. You have our word that we are doing whatever we can, wherever we can to ensure that our products are fair for all involved. This isn't a marketing campaign or nice 'add-on' for us, this is what we believe and we hope one day will be common place in retail. 

 

Does all the money I pay go straight to the artisan who made the product?

No, they are paid a fair wage for their work but it is essential to our growth that we can cover our costs (import, shipping, website, postage...etc.) in order to be able to grow and support more artisans. This way our artisans can be empowered without relying on handouts and donations, and so can we! 

How else do you support your artisans?

We work to support our artisans and to respond to crisis situations as well as providing safety equipment and practical support. Recently this looked like buying new gumboots for those who harvest our papyrus to ensure that they are safe from snakes and other hazards while harvesting in the swamp lands.

 

What are you doing to ensure sustainability in your shipping and packaging?

All of our packaging is recyclable or reused where we can. You will find our packaging peanuts are compostable as well. Where possible we also work with shipping companies who can offer carbon offsetting.

 

Can I work with you?

If you, or someone you know, is linked with artisans around the world who you think have the skills to make products that would fit in here then we would love to hear from you. We love to partner with and support those who are working hard to tackle poverty through income generation to achieve more together than we could apart. You can contact us here.