Marafiki Arts

Marafiki Arts, www.marafikiarts.org, is a non-profit organization with a studio in Philadelphia and an environmentally friendly textile workshop in rural Kenya working towards reinforcing economic foundations by giving creative options to disadvantaged segments of the population.

Our workshop in Wote, Kenya is a model for sustainable small- scale farming and green textile production. Marafiki Arts is constantly creating programs to improve the livelihoods of the Kamba farming community members we work with by prioritizing organic cotton growing, hand spun yarn quality, natural dye capabilities, and local marketing strategies.

Marafiki Arts means ‘friends all’ in Swahili, and we invite artists and designers to collaborate with us to help us achieve our goals to help others and to bring awareness to farmers and craftsman to add value to their work and lives. Marafiki Arts welcomes partnerships with artists, designers, colleges and universities to continue to create sustainable and environmental practices to expand our cottage textile industry.