Stories, Stitches and Shared Meals Day Two In Nairobi

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Stories, Stitches and Shared Meals: Day Two In Nairobi

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Stories, Stitches, and Shared Meals: Day Two In Nairobi

May 13, 2026

Karibu! Today was a full day of meeting our partner businesses. We started the day off bright and early leaving the Homecare Retreat as the sun rose. It was all worth it as it made for a fun-filled day meeting companies Amani Ya Juu, Buttons and Bows and Kazuri Beads! Lastly we topped the day off visiting a local giraffe center, and cooking a traditional Kenyan dinner with our hosts at the homecare retreat.

We kicked off our day at Amani Ya Juu with a delicious breakfast at the garden cafe. Our food consisted of yogurt bowls, crepes, and bagels as well as an amazing pineapple and mint juice. While we ate we were joined by one of the long time partners of our trip, Maggie. She was kind enough to tell us her story and what brought her to Amani Ya Juu. We absolutely loved spending time with Maggie and getting to hear about her life. We were then able to tour the grounds and meet all the women who create their products. As we toured we got to see all different areas of their work; clothing, home decor, baby toys, the list could go on! Seeing how everything was made from start to finish was so interesting. We finished off the tour in a room with a unity quilt hung on a large wall filled with different sewn pictures all telling a story. Each section represented a different country and small story about the community or area to represent it. It was such a unique piece and so amazing to see after learning about all the work that goes into their products.

Kenya Team with Maggie in Amani Ya Juu Garden

Following Amani Ya Ju, we headed straight to Button and Bows. This fabric retail store truly had so much to offer! Our partner and the owner of buttons and bows welcomed us with open arms and shared the story of how her business came about. The love and passion Roslyn puts into her work was evident. Upon arrival we were given a tour of her store, which was filled with walls of several unique cloth patterns that she uses to make her products. Roslyn demonstrated the significance behind holding a strong passion for your work, as it truly fuels her motivation throughout challenges along the way.

Next came Kazuri Beads; a workshop for bead jewelry and ceramics. In our time at Kazuri Beads, we were given a tour of the factory, learned the process of their retail system, and did some shopping ourselves! During the tour, we learned the production process from clay to colorful beaded jewelry on the store racks. Each bead is handcrafted by local women of the area. This was an especially fun stop to make as this company is a past partner of this trip, however, we had not yet visited their new location. Here, we were able to meet many staff members, including our partner Najoki. We finished the tour off with a group dance!

On the way home we stopped at the Giraffe Centre. The team eagerly got off the bus and rushed through the gates to see the giraffes. We got a small cup of food and were able to feed them by hand! We had a blast taking photos and laughing as some of the team got a few “head butts” from the giraffes. We were so excited to see them and they definitely did not disappoint!

Arriving home just before the sunset, we were ready to get our hands in the kitchen! Our host Rachel, as well as chef Dixon, did an amazing job running the kitchen as it now had 13 new helpers. From homemade Kenyan chapati to having our hosts try funfetti cake, we had so much fun sharing our favorite treats with one another.

Today was such a fulfilling day. We cannot thank our partners enough for such wonderful visits, and are so excited for tomorrow!

Asante Sana!

By Gabby Smigiel and Isabella Scurti

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