Kenana Knitters

Changing lives ‘stitch by stitch’

The Kenana Knitters are changing lives, ‘stitch by stitch’. When local Kenyan, Patricia (Paddy) Nightingale, founded the Kenana Knitters in 1998 with two keen knitters, they never anticipated the extent to which their passion and skill would impact their community.

Over the last 20 years, the Kenana Knitters have worked with many local ladies who were lacking a market for their homespun wool. Over time, with clever designs, the knitters transformed the yarn into unique creations.

Empowering women living
in rural Kenya

With the aim to further impact the community, Kenana Knitters taught women in the area to knit beautiful, organic cotton products using local, sustainable resources.

By providing a safe, family-friendly working environment, the organisation empowers women, offering them a chance to take charge of their lives, with pride and dignity. The primary purpose of Kenana is to support women in the local community, by directly providing them with a source of income, thus enabling them to improve the quality of their own lives as well as those of their extended families.

Over 300 knitters and over 200 spinners!

Currently, Kenana supports over 300 knitters as well as over 200 spinners who hand spin the wool into yarn using recycled bicycle wheels made into spinning wheels.

Knitting is ideal within the local community as it requires minimal equipment and can be done in snatches of time within the context of their daily lives.

Agricultural wages are insufficient to support the typically large and extended families found in Africa. The life of women in Rural Kenya isn’t easy. Women typically do not have the same rights as men within society and have limited access to land ownership. Women are also the backbone of the home and are required to juggle domestic duties and agricultural work. Sowing, weeding and harvesting crops, but also caring for the children and elderly within the family, making food for their families and collecting firewood and water. In effect, the women do a lot of unpaid work around their homes.

Job opportunities in Njoro include working in flower farms, sawmills and casual laborer work. The pay in these jobs tends to reflect gender stereotypes and some of these organisations provide relatively low earnings, poor working conditions and limited advancement opportunities. Further, women usually are paid less than men, even when the women perform the same or equal-value jobs.

Kenana Knitters believes that women are the heartbeat of their communities. Kenana Knitters’ ethos is to make a significant social impact in rural Kenya by empowering women to take charge of their lives through dignified work in a safe, family-friendly working environment.

The Knitters

Click on the knitter’s image to learn more

Paddy Nightingale

Founder

Paddy started Kenana Knitters to provide the women in the area with a sustainable income. Since then the organisation has grown by leaps and bounds. To this day you will still find Paddy dedicated to the ladies, and continues to design more of the perfect critters on offer today.

Hana Akai

Head of Production

“Kenana has been very good to me, and my immediate and extended family. As the oldest sibling, after the death of my parents, a lot of responsibilities fell on me. I have been able to support my brothers and sisters through my work at Kenana and they are now all independent with families of their own.”

Regina Ngonyo

Knitter

“Thank you very much to Kenana Knitters for giving women work and for believing in us. I pray for the continued prosperity of the company.“

Irene Akeno

Knitter

“So many of us came to Kenana when we were completely desperate, we had reached a point where we didn’t know where to go to find help. I was very lucky, Paddy helped me and my child, and then she gave me a job. Asante Sana!”

Martha Wanjira

Office Assistant

“I want to thank Kenana for giving me an opportunity to become a knitter. The homeopathic clinic has been a great support for my daughter’s illness. Through Kenana I am able to obtain medicine for my daughter’s epilepsy. I am truly grateful to Kenana Knitters.”

Peninah Nyambura

Knitter & Supervisor

“Kenana is a great place to work, with a friendly and conducive working and learning environment. I am really happy to be a part of this wonderful team“

Susan Etabo

Knitter

“The women at Kenana work very hard, I would like to encourage people to buy more of our products, so that we are able to continue providing for our families. Your support is very important to us.“

Tabitha Wanjiru

Knitter

“When I look back at how far I have come, I can only be grateful to Kenana for the opportunity that it gives to women like me. Thank you Kenana Knitters”

Susan Wamari

Knitter & Dye Kitchen Coordinator

“I am grateful for Kenana Knitters. The company has helped me and other women by giving us an opportunity to work. I have been able to raise my six children and educate them to secondary school.”

Purity Wachuka

Record Keeper

“My work at Kenana Knitters has enabled me to educate my two daughters as well as make an investment in land where my husband and I have built a permanent family home. I am grateful for the opportunity that Paddy has give me.“

Helen Wanjiru

Knitter

“I would like to encourage my fellow knitters to work hard and to remember that the work we do here at Kenana helps us to care for our children; we are able to feed, house and educate them.“

Nancy Ekeno

Knitter

“This work has been a godsend for me and my family. My husband and I met here on Kenana Farm and our children were born here. Kenana has been a very strong and positive force in our lives. My family and I thank them from the bottom of our hearts. We pray for their continued health and prosperity.”

Meet more of the Amazing Kenana Knitters

Monica Chelangat

Ann Nyokabi

Milicent Oduor

Lucy Muthoni

Joyce Gathoni

Mary Ngotho

Nancy Nyambura

Mary Amuria

Sarah Njoki

Lucy Njeri

Joyce Cherotich

Ann Saimon

Ann Emuria

Naureen Vihenda

Margaret Chepkirui

Esther Njoroge

Lydia Wanjiru

Ruth Kerubo

Hellen Wangui

Margaret Lopkoki

Grace Mbugua

Violet Maina

Ann Logosio

Rose Nduta

Jane Mburu

Margaret Karanja

Margaret Nyambura

Veronica Wanjiku

Caroline Chepkorir

Beth Wambui

Mary Mugure

Stella Wambia

Grace Gichohi

Grace Nanok

Grace Muchemi

Mary Wanjiru

Nancy Muringe

Naomi Wairimu

Virginia Wairimu

Monica Mumbi

Jane Wacuka

Emily Rotich

Susan Wanjiku

Loise Wangare

Grace Wanjiku

Grace Wambui

Rosemary Wambui

Florence Wambui

Esther Lorot

Knitter Critter Gallery

Kenana Knitters hand-knit their beautiful critters using either homespun wool or organic cotton, all of which are naturally dyed and locally sourced. They produce unique, sustainable and ethical goods using both AZO-free dyes and natural plant dyes from plants grown in the area which add vibrant and colourful depth to designs.