Kenya
Kiondo totes — hand-woven sisal baskets with smooth leather handles, built for the market and the beach.
Our story
Every Kiondo tote starts as a coil of sisal, twisted and stitched by hand until it becomes a tough, shapely basket. Leather handles are cut, stitched and riveted on, and the whole basket is bound with a rolled rim so it keeps its form for years. What began as a market basket in Kenya is now a roomy tote you can carry from the stalls to the sand.
Where it comes from
Kiondo baskets woven from sisal with leather handles, a Kenyan market staple.
Brush off dust and wipe with a slightly damp cloth. Keep it away from long, heavy rain. Sisal is tough and dries fast if it does get wet.
Weavers in Kenya, working with sisal and leather, following the traditional Kiondo basket-making craft. Buying one supports those makers directly.
The medium totes hold a day's shopping or a towel-and-book beach load. The large baskets carry a full weekly market shop with room to spare.
Yes — the handles are genuine leather, cut and finished for the baskets. They start supple and soften further with use.
Yes. Each one is coiled and stitched by hand from sisal, then fitted with leather handles that are cut, stitched and riveted on. Hand-woven means every basket differs slightly in its weave.
Kiondo is the Kenyan name for a hand-woven sisal basket. Traditionally a market basket, it is now woven as a sturdy tote with leather handles, built to carry a lot and last a long time.
Notes from Safiri — new pieces and the people who make them. No noise.
