The majority of Mifuko's containers serve as versatile storage aids in the home. This storage basket is also designed to keep everyday items or small special features together in an organized way. With a diameter of 21 centimetres, the basket looks good as a vide-poche in the hallway, as a collection point for cosmetics in the bathroom or for office utensils on the desk and also as a bread or fruit basket on the dining table. And those with a penchant or knack for decorating already have five other ideas in mind for using the small basket ...

Mifuko is Swahili and means bag - because the collaboration between the Finnish designer duo Minna Impiö and Mari Martikainen and the Kenyan women began with bags and baskets. Mifuko's range focuses on products that are made by hand from renewable natural materials from the region - including this basket made from robust, durable paper cord. Mifuko developed this type of paper cord in collaboration with a Kenyan factory. Kenyan craftswomen weave it into shape according to all the rules of the art of basket making - you can tell who wove your Mifuko basket by the attached sign, where the women sign their names. By the way, did you know that basket weaving is one of the oldest handicraft techniques known to mankind? It most probably originated before pottery. Archaeological finds prove this, as the oldest evidence of wickerwork dates back to the Neolithic period: they are estimated to be up to 12,000 years old.

Kenyan tradition and craftsmanship characterize the designs of the Finnish label Mifuko. The long-standing connection with Kenya enabled the two designers Minna Impiö and Mari Martikainen to start a cooperation with Kenyan craftswomen in 2009 so that the products could also be manufactured in Kenya. Mifuko now works with around 400 women, not only in Kenya, but also in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana. They live mainly in rural areas and work primarily in agriculture. In the dry season, they weave carpets, weave baskets or bags, make jewelry and many other decorative items. Fair payment and long-term business relationships are just as important as the skills and traditional manufacturing techniques are taken into account when designing the products. This gives the women the opportunity to expand their knowledge and pass it on to younger women. They can build up their own network and are ultimately able to earn an additional income, as the women and their families primarily work in agriculture. Only when their own fields have been cultivated and the animals cared for do they produce for Mifuko, thus earning an additional income that often saves them during the drought.

Mifuko is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). On the one hand, this implies the permanent implementation and monitoring of fair trade and fair pay, and on the other hand, care is taken to ensure that the natural habitat is affected as little as possible during the manufacture of the products and that occupational safety is guaranteed. In addition, Minna Impiö and Mari Martikainen finance projects that improve the lives of the workers and their families, such as the construction of sanitary facilities.

Certain manufacturing steps are carried out by hand. Slight dimensional and color deviations may therefore occur.