Fascinating Kazuri beads

In the old Bixen estate on the outskirts of Kenya is Kazuri where the world famous hand-made Kazuri beads and jewelry is created by the local people

. Kazuri beads are known for their bright colors and beautiful designs. These beads are made in various shapes such as round, oval, tube, shell, disc, to name a few.

Apart from their visual appeal, the history of Kazuri beads is also very fascinating. Back in 1970 an English woman born in Africa named Lady Susan Wood and her husband, who was a doctor by profession, initiated a business idea that could help the poor people in Kenya. Touched by the miserable condition of the poverty-stricken community, especially, women living in some parts of Africa, Susan and her husband planned to form an enterprise that would give work to such people in need and help them make a living. Thus, finally in the year 1975 an enterprise named Kazuri Beads was formed, which later took shape of a Fair Trade project working towards the welfare and empowerment of impoverished African women.

Now to talk about their manufacturing process, Kazuri beads are made through a special technique. The base material for these ceramic beads is clay that is produced in the mountains of Kenya Highlands. The raw form of clay is first processed to free the clay from all its impurities. After that, two minerals namely Feldspar and quartz are added to the raw clay and together treated in order to create durable and good quality clay. From there, the clay is molded into various shapes. The clay is shaped by hands, by the people working on making these beads. Then, the semi-formed clay beads are put under the sun to be baked before being heated at a temperature above 1100 degrees celcius in the electric kilns. Thereafter, these beads are hand painted, polished and again kept in the ovens for further baking. And this is how we get the beautiful hand-made kazuri beads.

The hand painting of the women working in the Kazuri is worth an admiration. These women possess a great skill of making different designs and patterns on the beads. Each bead looks different and better than the other. The impeccable talent gives birth to such magnificent and vibrant beads. The immense beauty of these colorful ceramic beads encourages people to buy the Kazuri jewelry, which not only is a step towards beautifying oneself but also towards a great cause for helping the underprivileged and deprived.

Fascinating Kazuri beads

By: Roberto Gentles

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