Octopus

The Kenana Knitters – 'changing lives stitch by stitch'

The Kenana Knitters’ vision is to share the stories of rural Kenyan women through their unique, hand-knitted creations. They believe it is possible to change lives, stitch by stitch.

When local Kenyan, Patricia 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. 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.

Today, Kenana Knitters employs and pays fair wages to over 500 knitters and spinners. The organisation sells its collections of handcrafted products locally and to countries around the world. It also provides a monthly health clinic for the women, free eye checks and glasses when needed, a savings plan, literacy, and numeracy support, and access to free electricity for phone and torch charging.

Kenana Down Under Pty Ltd is proud to be the Australian & New Zealand distributor for Kenana Knitters Ltd.