Esther from Sawubona
Meet the Maker: Esther Gathambo from Sawubona
Esther Gathambo’s experience growing up in Kenya fostered a relentless need to contribute meaningfully to the world. Becoming the first in her family to attend university, opened the door to migrate to New Zealand, where she would go on to create a social enterprise celebrating and empowering African artisans.
How did life in Kenya lead you to Sawubona?
Raised in a predominantly matriarchal household, I was influenced by the entrepreneurial spirit of my mother and grandmother. My grandmother had a crafts business and my mother left her job as a receptionist in pursuit of a business venture. Their determination to create opportunities for themselves and their families despite limited resources left a lasting impression on me. Coming to New Zealand, I saw the opportunity to create a business that would connect me to my heritage; preserving art and craft forms I grew up with, and also the platform for African artisans to foster change in their own communities.
What can people find at Sawubona?
We are currently working with over 75 artisans and producers from Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa who are predominantly wood carvers and weavers. You can find all sorts of their creations from baskets, to salad servers, placemats, throws and more. We also sell tea, jewellery and fragrance.
How do you find the artisans you work with?
When I first started I just asked friends and family in Kenya to scout for artisans because I couldn't be there physically (it was around covid time). It took a while to track them down because they live far away from big cities and in remote villages. But once we started working with a few, it was quite easy to reach more groups, especially the weavers. Overtime, we have had the artisans reach out to us instead just because word gets around. For other items we utilise fair trade organisations such as Indego, JUSTTEA and Gone Rural to connect us with artisans in Rwanda and South Africa. There are so many out there and we just wish we could accommodate them all!
How do you ensure fair practice with your suppliers?
First and foremost we are not formally certified, planning to do it one day as right now it's quite an expensive process. For the artisans we are able to work with directly, we pay 50% upfront which covers materials and labour (working with a Kenyan living wage) and the other 50% is paid once the order is complete. It’s not perfect but I am working on a social impact strategy through my Masters in Sustainability and hope to continuously innovate our model for best possible practice.
Visit Sawubona in the Market
