After spending time in sub-saharan Africa, Founders Alicia and Greg came together with the goal to create impact-driven supply chain and started Kazi in 2013. Based in San Diego, California, Kazi now works with over 6,000 artisans in Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana and Tanzania to produce beautiful, handwoven products.

Central to their mission is ensuring fair wages across all artisan work in order to most directly alleviate poverty in their communities. Central in measuring what constitutes a fair and living wage are the indicators of opportunity and investment that in most cases were not previously available, like purchasing livestock and land, sending their children to school, and having active savings accounts. These economic and family-oriented metrics are key in ensuring that artisans are not only making a livable wage, but are having the opportunity to reinvest in their families and communities. Sustainability is also central in Kazi's process, both in the responsibly harvested all-natural fibers and organic dyes they use, and their clean energy practices.

Together, Kazi's communities unite the beauty and sustainability of handmade products with the scale and opportunity of global markets. Kazi means work, which is what they create: works of art, that provide steady work, for artisans.