by Hannah Woodard

In reflection of the past year and in anticipation of the coming one, a Kenyan friend of mine recently wrote to me that we are all human regardless of different races, cultures, religion, beliefs and taboos. That although we are from different worlds, in a way we are one and the same people.

Besides whole-heartedly agreeing with this, this brought to my mind something a professor of mine at RISD once said: ‘I believe that art is a cultural necessity.’

Culture depends on art because art and design are in every single aspect of life, from religious objects to the architecture of one’s home to the flip-flops or fur boots on our feet. And then of course there is the more metaphorical art and design of social structures and governments.

Our differences are necessary. They make us appreciate the exoticness of people and practices foreign to us. They make us question humanity.

Where would we be without appreciation and questioning? We wouldn’t be making any sort of advancements.

Why do we need advancements? Because the world, though surely bountiful in meaningful relationships, has a lot to work on. Every culture has something to learn about the way it receives, addresses and respects other cultures

Art reflects our cultural and individual thoughts and beliefs, and allows us to recognize and question our similarities, our differences and our very being. Without it, we’d be a lost and dull species, and it is in this that I find my passion for design.

by Vijeta Rathor, KEZA Design Intern

This has been another interesting week here at KEZA. Each day unfolds a new series of experiences, which cannot be attained at any high status schools or universities. I have learned about new and innovative ways to use a variety of materials available to us in order to come up with jewelry creations. At the end of each day this gives me a sense of satisfaction.

Tackling tricky yet beautiful designs sends an adrenaline rush through me and makes me want to come up with my best solutions for design challenges. The more you get involved in problem solving the more you realize there was no exact problem to begin with, but rather you were not ready look deeper into the solution that was right in front of you from the very beginning.

The process of naming the unique jewelry pieces has been another exciting experience as you have to be creative as well as meaningful with your words. I usually thought naming products was quiet easy but after passing through this stage, I have realized that there is a lot more that goes into it even if it seems as simple a name. The character, personality and materials of each piece have to harmonize with the name. It makes you realize how even a tiny detail on a piece can determine the perfect name for it. That way the piece speaks for itself and does not really need a long detailed story to convince people about its individuality.

I am glad to be part of such an experience as very few people get the opportunity to do what I am doing.

by Vijeta Rathor, KEZA Design Intern

Learning is a never-ending journey no matter how trivial our experiences in life; something we should never take for granted. I have learnt so much from the KEZA team as each of them teach me something new. It is an endless journey of grasping knowledge.

As we harmonize our different lifestyles and backgrounds it still reminds us that no matter what our cultural or religious beliefs are, at the end of the day we are all human and we respect and appreciate each other.

I feel so honored to be given the opportunity to work at KEZA. We not only strive to come up with exquisite designs and products but rather it goes deeper than that. It is our passion to fuse the appreciation of culture, love and unity. We want to share our life stories and experiences and the cultural explosion of beauty and diversity in Africa which goes beyond droughts, famines or wars so commonly used to portray a negative picture of Africa.

Through KEZA, Africa has been given a new platform to show the world a true African fighter spirit. Even amidst difficulties we still stand tall and smile with a hope in our eyes by looking forward for a brighter future for this beautiful continent.

Humanity is a race that God created for us all and here at KEZA we live by it.

I received two books recently, both of which I was first acquainted with in Kenya. One is Africa Adorned by Angela Fisher, a collection of magnificent photographs and documentation of tribal adornment from all over Africa. The other is We Are All Weird by Seth Godin, an author to whom I have our own Jared Angaza to thank for introducing me to.

“Human beings prefer to organize in tribes, into groups of people who share a leader or culture or definition of normal“. -Godin

As I was looking through photographs of women with large coins sewn into their braids and men strapped into beaded corsets, I thought immediately of the phrase ‘definition of normal’.

How often do you look at others and feel that they are behaving in a way that you would call ‘weird’ (or something of the sort)? How often do you take a step back from that first instinct and think about how the person you are perceiving to be weird is perhaps just behaving in ways that are fulfilling the same needs in him or her that you have in yourself?

I doubt if any person on this earth isn’t familiar with that feeling. We are all brought up learning ways in which we are supposed to behave and ways in which we are not. We are all brought up with different notions of what is “normal”.

The next time you feel that initial discomfort or sense or superiority at being in the presence of someone behaving in a way that is weird to you, think of the idea that perhaps they merely have a different definition of normal.

And while you’re at it, take a little pride in the diversity of our world, and the willingness of some to break the norms of the masses. Then go break some norms yourself.

How would you behave if you were being completely honest and true to yourself?

by Hannah Woodard

This past weekend, I was in a shop in Burlington, VT when I came across a bracelet exactly like ones a friend of mine in Kenya makes for a living. I smiled.

I turned the label over: ‘MADE IN KENYA’. My smile widened. I might very well have been sitting with this friend the day he made this bracelet, and now here it was thousands of miles away in the place where I grew up.

But I was smiling because I know the story behind it. I know that this man’s wife sells vegetables, and that they are raising three children on the income from that and the man’s jewelry making. Unfortunately, none of that story is captured in a bland ‘MADE IN KENYA’ label with a barcode next to it.

I wanted others that would pick this bracelet up to know its story too. I believe that even just a little bit of that information would spark a feeling of connection for the person who will eventually buy and wear that bracelet.

I believe that most objects carry much of their value in their individual histories. And I believe that knowing the story behind objects in our lives, especially ones we wear, has the ability to contribute to a feeling of fulfillment and connection in every day life.

by Hannah Woodard

I was recently looking through photographs I took in Kenya, and came across one of a child pulling a toy truck fashioned from a plastic water bottle. Sticks were stuck through the sides with bottle caps on each end, such that the wheels actually turned.

For a moment, this brought to mind all of the comparatively ridiculous amounts of toys I had growing up; play mobile, farm sets, soft stuffed animals and dolls whose eyes really opened and shut.

But it also brought to mind the limitations I had as a child, at least compared to many of my friends. Our television received only four working channels, one of which was in French. We didn’t get high-speed Internet until I’d moved out of the house.

These circumstances resulted in me spending much of my childhood either inventing new forms of entertainment with whatever I could find around, or else creating ‘civilizations’ (forts, invented languages, etc.) in the woods in which I lived.

Limitations are an excellent spur for creativity, and I feel privileged to have had some form of limitation in many areas of my life.

I’m not saying that what many Westerners think of as ‘underprivileged’ folks in Africa (and anywhere else in the world, for that matter) wouldn’t benefit from fewer limitations. Only that such limitations have likely taught them things and caused their minds to develop in ways that many Western minds have not. That they have as much to teach and share with us as we do with them.

by Hannah Woodard

As holiday time draws near, I find myself recalling the things I valued about my family’s holiday (Christmas, in our case) as a child, and what I value now. Unsurprisingly, I was terribly excited about the gifts I would receive. That felt like the most important part of the holiday. But it was also equally important to me that I found gifts for all of my family members that I was sure they would love and appreciate.

I remember the question that adults would be asked of me over and over; What did you get for Christmas? And I remember, as a teenager, realizing that perhaps that one innocent question had fueled the perception that what I received for the holiday dictated how much I enjoyed it.

I resolved then to always ask of the children in my life what they gave for the holidays rather than what they got.  I think we influence our young in ways that we don’t even realize, and that’s it’s important to be deliberate even (or perhaps especially) in small, daily interactions.

Nowadays (again unsurprisingly) what I appreciate most is spending time with family and friends and eating good food. Listening to festive songs. Enjoying the general holiday atmosphere.

Thus, I ask everyone to keep in mind this holiday season the question, What did you give? And not only to direct it towards children, but to people of all ages. I believe that taking the opportunity to change perspectives in small, everyday interactions has the potential to make a world of difference.

by Malinda Douglass | KEZA Sales

Over the past decade, a major shift has begun to occur in the field of psychology.  Since WWII, psychology has been primarily concerned with disorders of the mind and the focus of treatment has aimed at eliminating the symptoms of these pathologies.  Depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, you name it, the goal has been to isolate the biological and psychosocial factors that contribute to these problems and attack them head-on with meds and psychotherapy.

But those within the field that is now known as Positive Psychology started to think differently.  Rather than continuing to look solely at what’s wrong, they began to ask, “What’s right?”  Knowing that people aren’t simply a bundle of pathologies and problems, they started to study strengths, virtues, talents and values within their patients and dared to consider the idea that if these character traits could be nurtured, perhaps pathology would shrink in their presence or fail to surface in the first place.  Sort of a form of alternative mental health care, so to speak.

The nature of consciousness remains a great mystery, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that what we give our attention to grows.

What if we decided to view the developing world through the lens of Positive Psychology?  What if we looked beyond the poverty, beyond the disease, beyond the hunger?  It’s not that these issues don’t need to be addressed.  They do.  Now. In very smart, intentional and sustainable ways.  But, what if we started to also ask, “What’s right?”  What if we truly paid attention to the strength, the beauty, the talent and fortitude of its people?  Would these things grow?  Might all these problems, slowly but surely, begin to shrink in their presence?

I never thought that being involved with an ethical fashion label would find me drawing parallels with my previous work in psychology.  But this is exactly what KEZA is doing.  KEZA is stepping back, taking a broader look at the developing world and asking, “What’s right?”  And you can see the answer reflected in everything they do.  The beauty, the creativity, the talent, the resourcefulness, the determination.  These are all strengths and virtues that are prevalent in the developing world.  And it’s about time we began to see them.

Start asking, “What’s right?”  When you find the answer, pay attention.

You can take your own Values in Action (VIA) Survey of Character Strengths for free at: http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

by Hannah Woodard

I was listening recently to an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air with Walter Isaacson, the writer of Steve Jobs’ biography. Jobs was obsessive about excellent craftsmanship, inside and out. Even the screws in the curcuit board had to have the perfect curves, be the exact shade of the right color. Terry Gross asked Isaacson if this sort of thing drove his team crazy.

“It drove them crazy but they became very loyal….they realized that they were producing, with other A players, truly great products…” -WALTER ISAACSON ON STEVE JOBS

That was dignity that they were feeling.  Creating truly great products with excellent craftsmanship usually results in the creation of respect and dignity.

Africa’s artisans (many of whom have been practicing skills that are ingrained in their tribes’ cultures from centuries ago) have what it takes to create truly great products.

The rest of the world often doesn’t expect this of them. Many craftsmen are left making higher quantities of products and not utilizing their skills to their greatest extent. These products are sold at a low price and there is little dignity or fulfillment involved.

What if the world expected of countries in Africa what it expects of countries like Italy, France, the United States (among many others)?

Something as small as changing one’s mentality toward Africa and her people could create a world of difference. Not instant difference, of course; great things take time. But I ask you; keep this in mind and see what comes out of Africa in the coming years.

We love collaboration. The world needs more of it, and we do everything we can to foster it.

We have a handful of organizations that we really love to support when the opportunity arises (or when we just create one). One of those is Charity:Water. The bottom line is that they are setting the standard for providing clean water to developing nations.

Malinda Douglass is a long time KEZA supporter and close friend of the Angazas. She’s also KEZA sales rep in the US. Her and her husband Tim just spend a few weeks with us in Mombasa. After lots of discussion, Malinda asked if she could put together a KEZA & Charity:Water campaign. Of course, we said yes.

Rob Orr is also a long time KEZA supporter and an authorized online retailer of KEZA products on his site, Dragonfly. We asked Rob if he was up for it, and he took it a step further. He’s dedicated his whole website to the campaign for the month of December!

Here’s the deal.

Buy a KEZA product from Rob’s Dragonfly website, and we’ll give half the sale to Charity:Water. They’ll use 100% of that money to bring clean water to developing nations.

It’s Black Friday today, and Christmas is on the way. Why not get a great gift for your loved one that touches lives all over the world? Seriously, who wouldn’t dig that?

Check out the campaign here, or just go straight to Dragonfly and buy a necklace.

Spread the word and join us in the campaign!