(6 reviews)
English, Swahili (optional)
Solo, Family, Couple, Group
What?
A hands-on, creative workshop with a local women’s group where you learn basket weaving and even discover the surprisingly fascinating process of making paper from elephant dung. A unique and meaningful experience rooted in community.
Where?
A local village in Kenya, hosted by a women’s group within the community.
When?
Available throughout the year on the women’s weaving days.
Why?
This experience is about more than learning a skill. It is about supporting a group of women who have come together to create their own opportunities and income. Through stories, shared moments and creativity, you gain insight into their lives while directly contributing to their work and independence.
How?
Join the women during their weaving sessions and learn step by step through a one-on-one, interactive workshop. Spend time connecting, creating and understanding the craft behind each piece.
Empowering these women that they are equal to men, can earn a living and do what they enjoy.
Learning skills is a factor to success and spreading them helps more people to thrive. A great opportunity to do just this and fuel this within the village.
Weaving within the village itself as children are playing, chickens roaming and women laughing. A sneak peek into these womens daily lives.
Opportunity to buy baskets and take them back home to share the story with friends and family.
You arrive at the village and are welcomed by the women with a warm, lively energy that instantly makes you feel at home. Settle in and ease into the experience as they introduce you to the art of basket weaving.
Learn how to weave your own basket using traditional techniques, while also discovering how paper is made from elephant dung. Follow along step by step, ask questions and enjoy the hands-on nature of the craft.
Take time to connect through stories, laughter, dance and shared moments. This is where the experience becomes real, as you learn more about the women and their journeys.
Complete your weaving and if you wish, purchase baskets directly from the women, knowing all proceeds go straight to them. Leave with new skills, meaningful connections and a deeper appreciation for their work.
Up to you, on average people spend 1.5hours here, but if you’re enjoying it you’re welcome to carry on weaving and interacting!
Kenyan Shillings will be the most accepted as well as Mpesa (mobile money).
It is about 10 minutes away from the main Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
I learnt so much from these remarkable ladies, they are so full of life, kind and sweet! Thank you Travel4Purpose
What a lovely experience, the ladies were delightful and learning how to weave was such fun. I’m so glad I could support these women and they’re truly inspirational.
We did this with our two teenage daughters and it was honestly the highlight of the whole holiday. Our girls were a bit shy at first but within minutes the women had them laughing and weaving and completely at ease. It sparked a really beautiful conversation on the drive back about women’s roles and what empowerment actually looks like in practice. The kind of experience you can’t really plan for.
If you’re on the fence about this one, just go. These women have built something genuinely remarkable — they stepped outside of what was expected of them and created a community and a livelihood on their own terms. You feel that the moment you arrive. The weaving itself is meditative and fun, and the stories shared over tea stayed with me long after I left Kenya. I came home with two baskets and a lot of perspective.
Loved this. We’re not really ‘workshop people’ but this felt nothing like that — it was just sitting with incredible women in a real village, learning something with our hands while kids ran around us and chickens photobombed everything. Very real, very special.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect walking into a village in Tsavo to learn basket weaving — but this ended up being one of the most quietly powerful afternoons of my trip. The women were so warm and full of laughter, and somewhere between fumbling with the reeds and sipping tea, one of them started telling me about her life. I bought three baskets and I think about that afternoon more than I expected to
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