Product Department

Kazuri Beads - Out of Africa: their origins and use

Kazuri Beads – Revisited!

 In April 2007 our newsletter printed an article on Kazuri Beads. Since we just received some new shapes and colors, we decided it was time to update our article. Kazuri Beads are made by hand in Kenya, using clay provided by farmers in the highland region of North Western Kenya. Kazuri means ‘small and beautiful’ in Swahili.

The business was started in 1975 by Lady Susan Wood, with two assistants. The factory is located on part of the estate from ‘Out of Africa’. Lady Wood revived a traditional bead-making process of the Kikuyu women. The Kikuyu were one of the first four main tribes to inhabit Kenya, along with the Masai, Kamba and Luo. The African bead business quickly grew, providing acceptable employment for African women, especially single mothers. In the early 1990’s the company expanded to make ceramic pottery. The company is run as a Fair Trade Co-Op, and provides a living wage for women who would otherwise have no way to support their family. Additionally, the company provides employees with free health care, day care, and health education on malaria and and other diseases. The factory site has also become a socialization center for the local people.

The Kazuri Mission Statement is ”to provide and sustain employment opportunities for disadvantaged members of the Kenyan society. In order to achieve this, we must produce top quality hand-made and hand-painted ceramic jewelry and pottery. This will ensure that we are well equipped to compete in both the international and local marketplace.”

The work is very labor intensive, starting with processing the clay to remove impurities and prepare it for the bead formation. Each bead is molded by hand, and pierced with a weaving needle. The beads are sun-dried for up to 4 hours, then fired in a kiln at about 2000 F. After cooling overnight, the beads are hand sorted for quality, then hand-painted with specific designs and colors. The beads are then hand-glazed, and fired again at just under 2000 F.

When we first wrote about the Kazuri Beads in 2007, the company had about 140 employees. Today the company employs about 300 women and produces more than 5 million beads per year! These beads are exported to 30 countries, and have been worn by many top fashion models. We now carry over 170 different shapes, sizes, colors and patterns of Kazuri beads, which supports many jewelry design options. One bead can be placed on a cord or chain, a few beads can be incorporated into many weaving and stringing patterns with many different types of materials, or many can be strung together with a few simple spacers. And don’t even get us started about the earrings! We are proud to support an African Womens Fair Trade business, and hope that you will enjoy wearing these beautiful beads, as well as supporting these talented women.

Below are some jewelry samples made with kazuri beads