Meet Our Producers

Dsenyo works with 70+ women and artisans in Malawi. By creating long-term relationships we are helping our producers build their businesses, improve their skills and work their way out of poverty.

By working with Dsenyo, producers benefit from a vital boost to their business. We provide them with the training, support and all materials needed to fulfill our orders. With the fair labor wage they earn, most producers reinvest in growing their local business, paying school fees for their children, and buying clothing, fertilizer and household goods that they couldn't otherwise afford.

We also work hard not to create a relationship of dependency. Dsenyo offers free training in several areas (sewing, business, fair trade, product design, quality control, etc) contributing to producers overall business development. We encourage them to pursue local markets and other fair trade customers. By empowering groups to grow their business and not rely on Dsenyo for 100% of their income, we are helping them create a more stable future for themselves.

Luso la Manja

This is a group of 13 women in Chifira village lead by Beatrice Zindondo. Luso la Manja translates to "the craft of our hands" in their language Chitonga. The group includes women from the community who have the highest level of need and/or are caring for orphans and vulnerable children. Luso la Manja has been sewing bags for over six years now and got their start with the help of a peace corps volunteer. Several other volunteers have offered support to the group over the years.

Made by Luso la Manja: aprons, change purses, kid's knapsacks, adult knapsacks, laptop sleeves

MicroVentures Kasungu & Mzuzu

MicroVentures was born out of the MicroLoan Foundation, a charity based in the UK, very active in the field of microcredit lending to the poorest of the poor in Malawi. The mission of MicroVentures is to train women in business and other skills enabling them to be more successful business women after receiving small loans. Dsenyo has teamed up with MicroVentures and works with two groups of their graduates who completed the sewing training certificate and now own their own businesses. One group is based in Kasungu near the MicroLoan Foundation Malawi offices and the other group operates out of Mzuzu.

Made by MicroVentures: change purses, jute totes, pajama pants, placemats, napkins, table runners, pot holders, button bags, hip bags

Ekwendeni Youth AIDS Resource Center

The Ekwendeni Youth AIDS Center is run by the Central Church of Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in Ekwendeni, Northern Malawi. The center provides activities and HIV/AIDS eduction for local youth. Some of the clubs include drama, music, paper making, games, and life skills. The center leads HIV/AIDS stigma reduction campaigns in an effort to raise a better understanding of the disease, and builds teams of youth that provide home-based care for community members sick or dying of AIDS.

Made by Ekwendeni Youth Center: greeting cards

Nkhata Bay Woodcarvers

East/Central Africa is blessed with beautiful natural hard woods like teak, ebony and mahogany. Woodcarving is the primary art form in Malawi passed down from generation to generation through male artisans. There is a small group of woodcarvers near Nkhata Bay that Dsenyo commissions to craft custom, hand-carved belt buckles and buttons. The group is lead by Andrew Phiri who has been carving for over 25 years and studied with his uncle since he was a young boy to learn the family tradition.

Made by Nkyhata Bay Woodcarvers: belt buckles

Chifundo Artisans Network

Chifundo Artisans Network is a village art studio in Balaka, Malawi employing 40 local artisans. This is a project designed to bring employment into the community and encourage teamwork, creative thinking and gender equality. Chifundo Artisans Network is part of the "St. Montfort Projects" overseen by the Catholic Montfort Fathers living in Balaka. They helped get their start from an American volunteer who fell in love with Balaka and it's people. Chifundo has come a long way and is now under Malawian management!

Dsenyo offers a Chifundo original design: monkey orange ornaments

Mwayiwathu HIV Support Group

Mwayiwathu formed out of the HIV-positive Living Group with Village to Village, a local community based organization. Mawyiwathu means "blessings" in the local language Chiyao. The 15 members of this group are primarily AIDS widows who are living with the virus themselves. They chose this name for their group because they see the work promised to them by Dsenyo as a blessing and a solution to some of the challenges they face. The women in the group use their wages to pay for transport to the hospital to get their ARVs, buy food, and purchase fertilizer for growing crops.

Made by Mwayiwathu: flower ornaments

Chibavi Tailors

This is a team of two young, industrious business women in Mzuzu, Malawi. The group is led by Agness Chiona who completed her training at the M.I.R.A.C.L.E. Technical College in Karonga, Malawi. This program trains orphans in sewing and then gives them a treadle machine upon graduation so they can start their own business. Agness, who operates Changu Ndi Luso Tailoring Shop ("Fast & Experienced"), teams up with Diana Shonga of D Tailoring Shop to work on Dsenyo orders.

Made by Agness & Diana: belts, cosmetic bags

Women's Empowerment Training Center

Elizabeth Chikoya started the Women's Empowerment Training Center out of her home. She was moved to help her fellow Malawians that are less fortunate than her. With the support of her husband, she was giving a small piece of land near their house to build a one room office/training center. The programs offered now include tailoring, mushroom farming, textile design and more. Dsenyo works with Elizabeth and a group of women that have trained with her.

Made by Elizabeth's group: eco shopper totes

Tribal Textiles (Zambia)

Based on the edge of the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia and established in 1991, Tribal Textiles has a team of over 150 staff. They produce unique hand-painted traditional and contemporary fabrics. The objective of Tribal Textiles is to promote fair trade practices, generate local employment and develop creative skills. They actively support and fund-raise for the local community school, Malimba, educating over 160 children.

Products featuring Tribal Textiles: Dsenyo's Tatu Collection

Quality Sewing (Colorado)

Dsenyo started by importing fabrics and making our bags here in Colorado in order to raise money to fund training for producer groups in Malawi. After a year of making bags in Colorado, Dsenyo had the money to start producing simple designs in Malawi. At this point, 80% of our products are made in Malawi and a few of our more complicated bags are still made in CO using hand-painted fabrics from Tribal Textiles in Zambia. Quality sewing is a wonderful family-owned, small business in Colorado. They help train and create jobs for women immigrants who are working hard to build a new and better life for themselves and their families here in the USA.