Meet the Rubona Weavers Pushing Uganda’s Handicraft Industry

At the age of 22, Kellen Kenganzi stepped into a space filled with weavers  to run a few errands but her open-mindedness and curiosity led her to actively learn and participate in almost each and every activity and process that was going on. Fifteen years down the road, the woman who walked in as a naïve young adult beams with pride as she lets me know that she is currently the manager at Rubona Basket Weavers Association. ‘’I manage and take care of the weavers. I also monitor and assess the quality of their work, make sure they are paid and generally co-ordinate the whole production process.”

The experience she has gained over the years, working with the weavers at Rubona Baskets and being a part of their daily operations makes her the perfect person to tell the story of this initiative.

A small association in Fort Portal supporting local women through the production of handicrafts, the story of Rubona Baskets stems from way back as Kellen narrates, ‘’Handiwork has been around for a long time. Before Rubona Baskets, we were a small group called Kweterana. It was later dissolved due to a few issues. That is when myself, a lady known as Nalongo and another colleague from Austria from the original Kweterana group decided to re-brand and continue the Basket weaving work at a more organized level in 2015, birthing Rubona baskets. ’’

They made a call to all the women in the area to come together for a 3 months training after which they rented a house and set up shop.

The initiative is built on the foundation of community. ‘’The norm is that the older women train new members within their areas of abode after which they bring them to the Centre (Rubona Basket premises) and introduce them to management. ‘’We also organize trainings for beginners and old members. It is a continuous process of recruiting as we push out calls through radio , and church gatherings to grow our numbers. We teach, groom, and grow new members in the process, and the cycle continues.’’ She adds.

In as much as these women work as a community, they take their work seriously and have built a handicraft business empire of baskets based off their skill, talent and hard work. Right up their alley, baskets in Fort Portal are mainly made by women. The raw materials are also easily accessible and can be found in the millet plantations (widely grown in the area) whose stems are a major necessity when it comes to basket making. Even better, they are made in the comfort of their homes which simplifies the process. ‘’There is really no capital needed besides buying the natural color dyes that go for about ugx2,000 to ugx3000. I think that’s the only investment/capital needed. When the work is done, the baskets are brought to the Centre (Rubona Weavers Store) and money paid to the weavers.’’

Their signature baskets have earned them a reputation as the go to place for the best baskets. Rubona is renowned for their quality baskets made from 100% local natural materials. The colorful and intricate patterns are achieved through natural dyes including produce such as turmeric, wood ash, madder root, indigo plant and cosmos flower. At the association, you will find a range of products including bowls, millet baskets, coffee baskets, trays, table mats, bread baskets, coasters, pen holders, boxes , paper baskets and even Christmas decorations.

They have also grown a wide clientele base on both the local and international market, the latter being their biggest source of income.’’ We normally sell to International tourists that come to visit Fort Portal, those that pass through our town on their way to Queen Elizabeth National Park, hotel owners, and bigger handicraft retailers in Kampala who also re-sell to tourists. Occasionally, we pack big containers on order for export to other countries.’’

Process

A Basket is a combination of 3 raw materials: millet straws, raffia and banana fiber.

These, in particular the millet straws and fiber come from our plantations/gardens. We cut out the middle hard part of a banana leaf and chop it into smaller parts to make the coil of the basket. For raffia, we encourage the women to pick it up at the Centre where we professionally make it. We aim to make and sell baskets made from natural dyes. We do not recommend artificial dyes.

The baskets are made from the women’s homes and brought to the centre on allocated days i.e. Monday and Thursday. On these days, finished baskets are inspected, cleared and cash paid to the weavers. We then re-price for some profit to keep the business up and running.

Acheivements

First of all, we are proud of bringing women together to cultivate community while giving them an outlet to express themselves through their crafts.

Through Rubona Baskets, we have created an avenue for these women to earn and sustain their livelihoods. They have been able to keep money running in their homes, reducing over dependency on their husbands, and becoming independent.

We have helped other small businesses in our area grow. When tourists come to our shop, they in turn buy other merchandise and products surrounding our area contributing to our collective growth of.

With Rubona Baskets, we have put Fort Portal and Uganda on the world map since our products and bought and sold worldwide.

We have also created employment opportunities for many young people who help us run our day to day activities.

Challenges

Competition: At times, we find ourselves having to compete with other traders who directly go to the weaver’s homes and buy from them yet we depend on the latter to bring the baskets to the Rubona centre. In the long run, we end up being short of labor and baskets to fulfill customer orders on time.

Detrimental shortcuts: There are retailers that make direct orders with our weavers, forcing them to compromise on quality. They end up selling substandard baskets using our ‘Rubona’ name as the main suppliers, in the end tarnishing our image. These retailers also sell the baskets at a much lower price compared to the standard Rubona price so we face a few challenges explaining to customers why prices differ.

The COVID pandemic has been such a big challenge. Before the pandemic, we had a group of over 200 weavers but when the Lockdown happened, we closed shop and put everything on hold forcing some of our weavers to look for other opportunities. In the end, we lost a couple of weavers.

Kellen’s love for the community and business she has built with these women inspires her to keep pushing through the hardest of times. She believes that no situation is permanent and the dark cloud will eventually clear. Most importantly, she has already experienced the profitability of the business and knows this is just a moment that shall pass. ‘’There is no permanent situation, and in the meantime, we are finding ways to maneuver the hardships keeping our heads high and not backing down.’’

What is your message?

Look at our baskets as something beneficial and impactful to the community, and also value the work the women do. People undermine the work that goes into making these baskets and normally make comments like ‘’why am I buying these expensively? Aren’t they made from normal plants?’’ They do not know the time, effort, and level of skill that goes into making them.

Our baskets should be seen as unique, eco-friendly and healthy products.

Advice

Young women should not underestimate any kind of work especially handicrafts. They should look at it as something they can earn from, something of great value.

People also have a tendency of looking at this kind of work as a job for people who are not educated but trust me, there are a lot of learned people in this business that are earning.

Kellen Kengazi is a mother of one, a leader and individual who is passionate about handicrafts and working with women.

Rubona Basket Weavers Association (RUBAWA) is a project situated in Rubona Town Council, just 22km from Fort Portal and on the main route to and from Queen Elizabeth. Their products are made by a group of local women members who have been trained in basket weaving to the very highest standards.

You can also observe and take part in the fascinating dying process that takes place every Wednesday morning or can be arranged independently.