Our handworkshops

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." 

Solid Crafts is a social enterprise making unique handmade products that bring joy to customers while empowering women in disadvantaged rural communities in Peru and Kenya. That's the essence of our social impact — because we know that supporting our artisans means uplifting the communities they live in, too.

Most of our knitters live in the poor neighbourhoods surrounding Ayacucho; the workshop also collaborates with a handful of more remote rural communities with a long tradition in handicraft. Knitting is a skill most of our artisans first learned from their mother or grandmother — but we back that inherited skill with ongoing training, so every knitter at our workshop grows into a world-class hand knitter.

  •

More than a job

  • Work at our workshop comes with social support: 

    • Health — safe working conditions, regular keep-fit sessions, and annual health campaigns.
    • Wellbeing — individual coaching and group sessions on personal wellbeing and social skills.

    • Prevention of violence — because sexual and family violence are still very present in these communities, women are supported in recognising and asserting their rights.
    • Childcare — 78% of our knitters are mothers, 24% single mothers. On-site childcare gives their children a safe, stimulating environment, and gives mothers peace of mind.

    • Education — in partnership with a local adult education programme, knitters who never finished primary school get the chance to resume their studies. Artisans also get access to external skill training to further specialise at an expert level.

Hadithi means "a story" in Swahili, the local language — and each basket really does tell one: the story of the woman whose hands wove it, and the family it supports.

  •

More than a job

    • Health — training on safe working conditions, especially around the use of dyes, as well as sexual and reproductive health.
    • Training — on quality, design, and colouring, alongside a full grounding in Hadithi's fair trade policies and leadership skills, so every artisan understands and can act on the standards behind her own work.

    • Life skills workshops - on demand, including topics like kitchen gardening or financial literacy training.

  • Why it matters beyond income

    • Environmental conservation — by offering a sustainable income alternative, Hadithi helps protect the fragile Kasigau ecosystem from pressures like poaching and deforestation for charcoal, timber, or farmland.
    • Cultural preservation — every product sold carries forward the story and heritage of the woman who made it.

Many of the weaving groups are organised as self-help groups, where women save collectively so members can take out loans — to start a business, or invest in their children's education. Woman to woman, they're teaching each other everything from weaving technique to entrepreneurship.

Beyond weaving, Hadithi also runs two training programmes for young people in welding and leather tanning, setting up equipped workshops in remote villages and connecting them to a market for their products.