Local, Hand-made, & Heart-woven
Art and Artisans
Why is this non-profit organization called “SSAAP”? It stands for Simwatachela Sustainable Agricultural and Arts Program, founded on the premise that SSAAP would employ artisans from Zambia and Sierra Leone at fair trade prices, sell the art to US donors, and the money generated would return to the African villages in Sierra Leone and Zambia. The Peace Corps model at its purest.
Indigenous products to Sierra Leone and Zambia include honey from bee-keeping groups, women’s groups who make jewelry and other accessories to empower their independence from often abusive husbands, wood-carving artists, basket weavers, and artisans skilled in painting with oils and batik art.