Mifuko is Swahili and means bag - because the cooperation between the Finnish designer duo Minna Impiö and Mari Martikainen and the Kenyan women began with bags and baskets. At the heart of the Mifuko range are products that are made by hand from renewable natural materials from the region. The containers serve, among other things, as versatile storage helpers in the home: like this small, lightweight basket, which is ideal for children's hands to collect Easter eggs in, which can be turned into a chocolate-sweet, bunny-colored nest for your room decoration and which proves its worth beyond Easter as a helpful little tidy keeper (the Easter eggs are likely to have been eaten with relish by then anyway).

The paper cord used for this Easter basket was specially developed by Mifuko in collaboration with a Kenyan factory. The cord is robust and durable and is woven into shape by Kenyan craftswomen according to all the rules of the art of basket making. Incidentally, basket weaving is one of the oldest handicraft techniques known to mankind; according to archaeological finds, it predates pottery. The oldest evidence of wickerwork dates back to the Neolithic period: it is estimated to be up to 12,000 years old. You can tell who wove your mifuko basket in our time by the attached sign, where the women sign their names.

Kenyan tradition and craftsmanship characterize the designs of the Finnish label Mifuko. The long-standing connection with Kenya enabled the two designers Minna Impiö and Mari Martikainen to start a cooperation with Kenyan craftswomen in 2009 so that the products could also be manufactured in Kenya. Mifuko now works with around 400 women, not only in Kenya, but also in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana. They live mainly in rural areas and work primarily in agriculture. In the dry season, they weave carpets, weave baskets or bags, make jewelry and many other decorative items. Fair payment and long-term business relationships are just as important as the skills and traditional manufacturing techniques are taken into account when designing the products. This gives the women the opportunity to expand their knowledge and pass it on to younger women. They can build up their own network and are ultimately able to earn an additional income, as the women and their families primarily work in agriculture. Only when their own fields have been cultivated and the animals cared for do they produce for Mifuko, thus earning an additional income that often saves them during the drought.

Mifuko is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). On the one hand, this implies the permanent implementation and monitoring of fair trade and fair pay, and on the other hand, care is taken to ensure that the natural habitat is affected as little as possible during the manufacture of the products and that occupational safety is guaranteed. In addition, Minna Impiö and Mari Martikainen finance projects that improve the lives of the workers and their families, such as the construction of sanitary facilities.

Certain manufacturing steps are carried out by hand. Slight dimensional and color deviations may therefore occur.