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Some of the first retail-focused things a lot of consumers think of when they hear “fair trade” is expensive, plain or kitschy. Awava, a fair trade social enterprise founded in 2008, is working to erase those feelings in their quest to use fair trade fashion to improve the lives of women in post-conflict Uganda. In this issue we have the pleasure of chatting with Awava’s founder, Kate von Achen.

SOT: You’re from a small town in Kansas. What made you go to Uganda?

KvA: I was lucky enough to be raised by a family with a pretty big worldview, who instilled the importance of civic duty and social justice in me. Like any kid/teenager, I didn’t realize quite how cool my parents actually were until later, but really, they laid the foundation for Awava before I could even speak. In my late teens/early twenties, I had gotten broadly involved social activism, but hadn’t truly honed in specifically on the fair trade movement and East Africa until my mid-twenties when I was accepted into a program with United Students for Fair Trade to learn from fair trade coffee farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2006. I fell in love with Uganda immediately and all I could think on the plane back to the US was “how am I going to get back there?” Six months later I was back for a few weeks examining the war in Northern Uganda alongside Ugandan youth, and six months after that (August 2007) I had sold most of my belongings and was off to Uganda for at least two years to obtain my M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies at Makerere University in Kampala.

SOT: So you’ve sold all of your belongings, and flown off to Uganda to study. How did Awava happen?

KvA: It was a small combination of things I suppose. I had background in fair trade, I had taken small gifts home to friends on my previous trips and people absolutely loved the fabrics and jewelry, and I knew that with Northern Uganda being relatively peaceful at the time, the population was starting to rebuild their lives from scratch and the number one thing needed was money. I had some general business management experience (in the service industry), and a passion for problem solving, so it kind of got to the point where I couldn’t not start Awava. So with a lot of encouragement from friends, and very little money, I decided to contact a beloved tailor in Gulu and take the plunge.
I remember the day quite clearly. I was traveling in Soroti and Mbale, Uganda with my housemate who was working with a German development agency and gave Mama Lucy a call in Gulu. I explained to Lucy what I wanted to do and asked her to help me mobilize a few women for tailoring. When I got back to Kampala, my friends Lauren and Jon linked me to Uganda Crafts, a fair trade craft company working with a number of artisans, to help me identify women to make baskets and other woven goods. Lauren and Jon also connected me to Konye Keni, a women’s group in Gulu making recycled paper jewelry, so the next week I traveled back up to Gulu to sit with Mama Lucy and the women she had brought in for training in tailoring, as well as Konye Keni. Production was officially under way. I was terrified.

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SOT: What kinds of products does Awava offer?

KvA: Awava has always focused on utilitarian design, using local [Ugandan] materials and techniques. In the beginning we were focused bags and accessories, some jewelry and housewares. Our product line has evolved and expanded over the years, as it should, and we have kept our top selling “classic designs”, adding new twists to some of them, phased out some of the less popular items, and we are continually adding new items, keeping our catalog fresh and fun. Since our start I have wanted to offer ready-to-wear apparel, but sizing was such an issue, and a skill that I personally didn’t have the capacity to teach (not to mention my lack of patterning knowledge). Last year we were able to raise money at an event in Lawrence, Kansas (an amazingly supportive community) to bring Margie Hogue, our lead apparel designer, to Uganda for a month to train the women in sizing and technique, and pattern usage. Our first apparel line officially launched in June 2012!​
 























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SOT: What have been some of your most popular products, including apparel?

KvA: Our most popular products thus far have been the Ssebo Necktie, Kyamisana Lunch Bag (with matching napkin), the Owino Tote, the Ejibba Sling Bag, Amaka Makeup Bag, the Ekitanda Duvet Set, all of our baskets, the Gomesi Sun Dress, the Kiwanvu Maxi Dress, the Mumpi Shorts, the Kagali Dress, the Ribonni Necklace, and the Mukwano Earrings (including Mukwano-Mzuri).

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SOT: Some of your products are in partnership with other groups. Can you tell us a bit about this?

KvA: Yes! Partnerships are very important to us. Over the years we started seeing other ethical businesses and individuals creating some really interesting products, and while maybe we could have taken inspiration from those and created our own versions, trying to reinvent an already beautiful wheel is inefficient and arguably unethical. We were lucky enough to be approached by one of the co-founders of Mzuribeads, a fair trade, women-focused company producing upcycled loose beads in August 2012.  We partnered with them to create finished designs with their beads, training the women in jewelry construction to add value to their existing work, and launched our first line with them in November 2012. We are totally in love with these eco-friendly pieces. They incorporate beads made from banana fiber, paper, cow horn, bark cloth, and all of the earrings have 100% recycled sterling silver ear wires.

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At the same time, we partnered with Ugandan artist, Wasswa Donald and his WASWAD line. Wasswa has been creating amazingly beautiful and durable bags and accessories using upcycled, hand painted canvas. His products have been so popular we’re having trouble keeping them in stock! But we hope to have more of the wallets and clutches in stock this spring.

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SOT: Where do you want to see Awava go in the future?

KvA: I want to see Awava keep growing at every level. The more we grow, the more artisans we can bring into the Awava family, and that income generated, and the skills learned, spread throughout their communities, and that is the point. We love seeing the women able to buy land, build houses, put all of their children in school, go for medical treatment when they need it, and “grow fat”, a sign of wealth in Uganda. And the confidence they begin to have is inspiring! It inspires me to try be my best self and never stop pushing.

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SOT: After living full time in Uganda for five years, you recently moved back to the United States. Why?

KvA: This was actually one of the toughest decisions I have ever made, maybe harder than my decision to move there in the first place! I had really built a life for myself in Uganda, made some of the best friends I could ever hope to, and I absolutely love the country, but I knew that in order for Awava to really grow, that I would need to come back and really push the business further on the primary marketing side. We offer retail and wholesale, and being able to sit and talk to customers and potential clients first hand has already made a huge difference. In September we were one of the designers in Kansas City Fashion Week, and we were just accepted into the West 18th Street Fashion Show which will take place in June. We’ve picked up a handful of new wholesale accounts and our retail sales have also increased quite a bit. And this is just the beginning!