Asili Design

Values

Our Story

Asili was created in response to consumer demand for transparency, ethical labour, and positive environmental practices. They guide collaborations between Contemporary designers and East African artisans - who make each item by hand. 

“Our aim is to have only a positive impact on the environment and the communities who create our products.” 

All makers receive a fair wage for their work and benefit from additional education and social support for their families. 

Asili’s management and operational structures are designed to adequately respond to the needs of small producers. The founders aim to visit their teams every two years, and have good relationships with all our producer groups.

They only partner with artisan groups that are Fair Trade Certified and follow the fair-trade principles and guidelines which ensure clean, healthy, and safe working environments along with a fair wage.

“We are privileged to work with artisans who are contributing to the preservation of culturally significant handcraft in Kenya and Uganda.” 

Asili collaboration encourages diversification of style and traditional technique. They believe in creating low-run pieces, focusing on the handmade rather than the mass-produced. 

They work primarily with reclaimed wood, soapstone, and Ankole cattle horn, responsibly sourced through certified organisations. Each Asili piece is unique due to natural variances in these materials: 

• Soapstone - Kisii, Kenya. Most soapstone quarries in this area are family-owned; the people who own the land also live on it, and are very motivated to protect it. Soapstone is mined by hand, rather than heavy machinery, and the pits are refilled when mining is complete each year. 

• Ankole Cattle Horn - A by-product of Uganda’s beef and dairy industry, waste horns are either burnt, exported to China to be used as garment buttons, or used locally to create products that can be sold in markets. Asili is interested in helping to create new markets for this resource, helping Ugandan ranchers to benefit from using the entire cow. The organisation trains rural Ugandans in cattle horn craft, so they can generate income to contribute to supporting their families. 

• Reclaimed Olive Wood - Asili works with a co-op based in Machokos, Kenya, that produces the majority of our olive wood pieces. The wood they use is all reclaimed from olive wood tree stumps and roots, an industry by-product that is otherwise abandoned. With a permit from the Kenyan Forest Service certifying that the wood has been sourced sustainably, the team gather the wood and begin the seasoning process.

Asili is currently in the process of establishing an Asili Foundation where 10% of every sale goes into the foundation. They use this money to directly support the Asili artisans, their trade, and their communities.