Our Partners

Uganda Craft 2000 Limited (www.ugandacrafts2000ltd.org) is a Ugandan owned Fair Trade craft retailer providing employment and training for the disadvantaged—particularly widows, youth, the disabled and those living with HIV/AIDS.

Uganda Handloom Crafts (www.handloomcrafts.ug) is a fair trade, Ugandan owned business started in 1979 by Gloria Kiggundu with the goal of providing jobs with fair working conditions to single mothers and widows Uganda.

TEXDA (Textile Development Agency) provides training services to micro and small-scale women entrepreneurs in the areas of handloom weaving; dyeing, printing, surface design, basic design, garment construction, new product development, sewing machine repair and business management skills. TEXDA provides these services with the objective of building capacities and capabilities of women entrepreneurs in the textile sub sector to manufacture innovative quality products for both local and export markets.

The Kroo Bay Initiative (www.kbinitiative.org) exists to help realize universal primary education in Kroo Bay, the largest and most marginalized slum in Sierra Leone by covering the costs of school fees, providing scholarships and constructing schools. Awava and KBI have formed a partnership with a two-fold advantage. Awava's artisans in Uganda are provided with more work and income benefiting their families while helping out others across the continent through the sales of their beautiful products.

BASE Technologies is a Ugandan social enterprise focused on distributing Firefly™ solar lighting systems to people at the base of the global economic pyramid. Through a specialized “business in a bag” training program, dedicated entrepreneurs develop micro-franchises enabling them to make a living distributing safe, affordable, healthy alternatives to kerosene and candles. BASE Technologies also partners with solar dealers, non-governmental organizations, community organizations and micro-finance institutions that provide outlets for product sales, awareness-building activities, innovative financial support systems and after sales warranty service. For more information on BASE Technologies or the Firefly™ products please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Community Mercantile at 901 Iowa Street in Lawrence, Kansas is a member-owned natural foods grocer committed to promoting community ownership that encourages personal, community and environmental health. "The Merc!" and Awava formed their partnership in January 2010 and you can find many of Awava's beautiful products throughout this magnificent store!

Pryde's Old Westport (115 Westport Road in Kansas City, MO) is a family owned kitchen and home accessories store in the heart of historic Westport in KCMO. Housed in an original brick building built in 1922 for the Helen Thomes School of Dance, Pryde's has been offering Kansas City a staggering array of kitchen and household goods for more than 42 years. Awava is honored to have many of their wonderful products in stock inside this landmark store.

The "Keep It!" Campaign (www.keepitcampaign.com)mobilizes young people to make a sustained, focused commitment to developing their capacity as social entrepreneurs. The idea is to provide organizations that have well-established track records of success with a steady stream of youth volunteers who are willing to make a more substantial commitment to helping those organizations achieve their goals. The mission is to help build a community of hope in Ivory Park, South Africa by connecting individuals throughout the United States with opportunities to support the following initiatives by members of the Ivory Park Community: 1) the building of a comprehensive Community Center in the heart of the township; 2) the building and support of a library; 3)income generating projects; 4) youth programs and 5) intergenerational programs. Awava has partnered with The "Keep It!" Campaign giving our beautiful products the opportunity to not only empower the women making our products, but products purchased through "Keep It!" also benefit the beautiful community of Ivory Park.

The United Future Fundation (UFF) is an Australian non-governmental organization operating in Uganda. UFF is "breaking the cycle" of poverty through education, building a combined primary school and vocational training center in rural Uganda based on a strong belief that education is the means to creating lasting change.

UFF is focussed on making education and skills trainings accessible to Ugandan yough in poverty-stricken, rural and remote areas.

UFF has partnered with Awava to develop tailoring and crafts courses for their Technical and Vocational Education Training Program (TVET). This partnership aims to provide UFF with a foundation of skills and experience that will not only assist in developing crafts and tailoring skills for the UFF TVET Program, but will also increase the scope in which UFF and Awava can work together to create sustainable development for women across Uganda.

As of October 2010, UFF and Awava have adopted an open-ended partnership agreement that will allow UFF to work with the Awava team to open the Australian market for Awava UFF craft products. While UFF develop their TVET Tailoring Programs, the partnership agreement will allow UFF to raise funds through the selling of Awava products in Australia, while simultaneously contributing to the employment and continued sustainability of Awava artisans.

Both UFF and Awava share a mutual commitment to sustainable poverty reduction through skills education, access to resources, and linkages to open markets. As partners, UFF and Awava are committed to empowering women, families and communities by utilising these opportunities, in turn increasing sustainability and quality of life.

To find out how to become a partner, please email Kate at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !