HOW THE ORGANIZATION
STARTED BUSINESS
In 2007 Saskia Rechsteiner made a
handful of fabric necklaces for a Christmas
Fair in Arusha, Tanzania. Combining local
fabric with some beads and her sons’
marbles, she created a unique necklace
and sold out within hours. Needing a
name for the necklaces, she asked what
the Swahili word for a bead was and was
told it was a “shanga”.
The days after the fair were busy - orders
for the necklaces came in from safari
companies, gift shops and even people
who wanted to export them to Japan
and Australia.
Saskia saw an opportunity to generate
extra income for a deaf lady who worked
on the coffee estate where she lived
and together they started producing
the necklaces to sell. Saskia quickly
fell in love with the idea of helping more
people from the deaf community and
within weeks she had employed another
6 deaf ladies - all making the Shanga
necklace in her back yard.
MAIN CUSTOMERS
These products are sold in Tanzania and
all over the World, with the profits bring
reinvested back into development of
new products and further employment
of disabled people.
The immediate customers are Tourists,
Local individuals, Local vendors who
sell them in trendy boutiques in Arusha,
Kilimanjaro, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam.
THE PRODUCTION
Use of various creative techniques from
glassblowing recycled bottles, paper
making, maasai beading, recycling old
pots and pans into decorations, glass
bead making, traditional weaving, metal
work and much more.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Expanding the business and reach more
disabled and abled people to create
self-employment.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.shanga.org