Surly those doing business in one outskirt of the Kibera slum wondered what the two white ladies were doing tiptoeing purposefully up the road while dodging garbage piles. Arriving at the gate, we made our way to the new location for Kipepeo Designs. As is common amidst slum dwellers, finding and keeping a home or a business is a challenge here. Yet “here” is the best way to provide easy access to the ladies responsible for the beautiful cards that make up Kipepeo Designs.
The roadside approach was festooned with drying hand-made papers, as was the approach for everyone passing down this particular road. The office-house didn’t have the compound space that the former location had so the papers were spread out to dry along the semi-private roadside. The tiny “house” had three rooms and likely sprawled out over about 300 square feet. Can you imagine running a business where 25 ladies work in a 300 square foot space with products and designs that require even more space for drying, packaging, and the like?
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| Photo taken from Kipepeo Designs' Facebook Page. |
This week Marcroy, a skilled screen printer, visited the group and taught new card-making techniques. The organization is expanding their line into famous artist designs made specifically for Kipepeo cards. Wait until you see the first of these beautiful new prints. Watch their Facebook page for regular updates.