Madwa products are made by groups of local artisans. Some have involved and organized their wider community, while others work as a single family.

In Mozambique our wood products are made by a collection of communities. In the Mezimbite forests north west of Beira, these communities live in an area of 145,000 hectares, and are educated and incentivised to practice sustainable forestry rather than pursue short term logging which has destroyed so much of their natural environment. They are also trained to make homeware from sustainably harvested hard woods.

To create its range of silk and cotton lambas, Madwa has worked with groups of traditional weavers from the Merina and Zafimanary tribes in the central highlands of Madagascar. Using a centuries old technique, they weave on single looms using natural dyes. Madwa also works with a master weaver who is recreating the disappearing art of intricately patterned silk lambas traditionally worn by Malagasy nobility and royalty.

In the capital, Antananarivo, groups of homeless women have been trained by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd to make linen drawn thread table napkins for Madwa. The nuns provide training skills for these women as well as schooling and daily meals for street children. Close by, another group of women use finely woven raffia to make covered boxes, pen holders, tissue boxes and trays.

Outside of Antananarivo, a village is involved in the production of Madwa floor cushions using locally sourced and sustainable materials, which include a filling of pine needles. In the same region, a single family using coils of aravula grass bound together with raffia, produce Madwa’s tableware and floor mats.

In the northern part of the island, using papyrus reeds, Madwa has partnered with groups of weavers to make its signature range of boldly patterned baskets and storage boxes.

In Swaziland, Madwa’s collection of homeware and baskets is made by groups of skilled wood carvers and weavers, working with Umtsala and Letinse grasses, in the Hhohho and Ezulwini valleys.  A unique method of weaving using a portable wooden frame and recycled torch batteries produces a range of luxurious mohair throws which are heavily textured, in plain and striped patterns.

Madwa has partnered with Tintsaba, an innovative handcraft project empowering over 900 rural Swazi women, to develop a new range of finely woven sisal products.

Madwa is also working with Ngwenya Glass in Swaziland. All the pieces are hand-blown in thick recycled glass to create the subtle green hues that are the range’s signature look. The collection includes plates, vases, tea lights and bowls.

Our collections allow the crafters with whom we work to build their skills and develop their creativity designing fresh ranges that appeal to discerning contemporary tastes across the globe.