On a recent trip to Uganda, I had the pleasure of meeting close to 100 senior women who live on less than 30 USD a month, provided by generous donors in the United States (U.S.). These women, who have aches and pains associated with aging, are often responsible for the care of their grandchildren.

To supplement that support, some make crafts like baskets, jewelry, artwork, purses, and more. This work takes hours and days to create one single product, and yet grandmas receive just pennies per hour on the final product.The crafts I saw were amazing, and to be created by women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, made them that much more special.

I knew in the U.S. that I paid much more for mass produced items. I decided to purchase a suitcase full of samples to raise money so I could help make the grandmas lives just a little bit easier. I can’t even express how excited the grandmas were at the idea of their crafts having value in the U.S., and of the possibly of earning more money.

Available is a range of products created by the grandmas I met in Uganda. The bowls, millet baskets, table mats, and more are made from 100% natural materials (raffia, banana, and millet straw). And, the colorful and intricate patterns of the baskets are achieved through natural dyes such as turmeric, wood ash, madder root, indigo plant, and cosmos flower.

The crafts are organized at Crafts by Grandmas with a requested minimum donation and do not include the cost of shipping, if required. Most products are currently in Colorado. If you find items you would like for a donation, please email me at hollyerlichman@yahoo.com and we can discuss the details.

I would truly appreciate your feedback. If donations go well, the grandmas want to set up work groups to create more of what we like and the inventory will grow. If you like what you see or would like to see different sizes, colors, products, please let me know and we can get it made.