Large Washbag
One of our best selling products in Tanzania, this washbag is perfect for storing all your toiletries in. It is made from our beautiful hand screen printed linen fabric, and finished with a waterproof liner on the inside and a zip fastening. It truly makes a lovely gift and is available in a variety of sizes, colours and designs.
Please be aware that because of the handmade nature of the product, the design and colours may vary slightly from the image shown. Carefully and lovingly handprinted, sewn and decorated with cotton and wood tassels by artisans in Iringa, Tanzania.
$22.00
Meet the Artisan
Atilia makes jewellery and the tassels for wash bags and cushions at Neema Crafts.
Her life changed forever in 2000, when she was involved in an accident at work. A huge container filled with building materials fell over, and trapped her leg underneath it. It all happened so quickly and it was a very confusing time for Atilia. She didn’t understand what had happened, but some people took her to hospital, where they tried to save my leg. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done, and it had to be amputated at the knee. When she lost her leg, she struggled so much to move around that it was impossible to continue her work at the markets. She ended up begging on the streets, but this was not enough to support her family.
Finally, she found some work picking vegetables at a farm, but her children had to come with her before school to carry the vegetables to the market. She could only move very slowly with my crutches. It was at the market, where she first heard about Neema. Someone explained to her that they employed people with disabilities and so she applied for the job.
“Neema Crafts helped me to get an artificial leg and I have now been working here for over 10 years making jewellery and tassels. My job here has improved my life a lot. I am very grateful for my new house, which Neema helped me to build in 2016, and that my granddaughter (who I care for since my daughter died) now receives child sponsorship. One day I hope to use what I have learnt at Neema to open my own business.”
