Mpira – which means ball in Swahili – was so named because what we do is circular. We work with creative Kenyans to make beautiful objects from materials that would have been thrown away and we bring them to you. 

By turning discarded leather, clothing, wood, paper and fabric into desirable items, everyone wins: 

The women – who make the pieces by hand, in small studios, for a good living wage.

The earth – every piece is upcycled or recycled in Africa using materials that would have gone to landfill.

You – by owning something that’s hand-made and individual.

We started Mpira in 2019 to bring these beautiful, responsibly made goods to an international audience and to provide well-paid jobs to skilled craftsmen in Kenya. We hope to grow it slowly and sustainably as we discover other artisans who need our support.

All of our pieces are made responsibly, using natural fibres, natural dyes and traditional skills to turn discarded products into desirable objects. We have personally visited each of the workshops in which the products are made, so we understand the provenance of everything we sell. 

New in - Christmas Crackers

After the success of last year, we're delighted to have our luxury Christmas crackers back in stock! These are hand made from recycled paper in Kenya The gifts inside the crackers are hand made by local artisans, using waste or natural sustainable materials. We employ for these talented artisans and pay them a proper wage. The gifts include lovely items that want to be kept such as a little beaded wooden spoon, bracelets, keyrings, and finger puppets. The contents are plastic free and come with a joke, a proverb, and a small paper envelope containing the gift and a paper printed hat.

See our colour options here

INSPIRATION

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Our Commitments

- Through openness and truthfulness we build goodwill and friendships with our partners. 

- Every decision we make has to be beneficial to all concerned from the creation of product, through to distribution and supply and to our customer.

- We work with our suppliers to grow their businesses, empowering them to support their local communities with fairly paid work and skills training.

- We support our Kenyan partners to work only with waste materials, from the product through to packaging, to minimise the impact we have on our beautiful planet.