Stronger job growth in Kenya provides us with more opportunities to remain in conventional office drudgery. Still, the rise of home working cannot be ignored and hints at a profound change. Historically, most cottage industries are food based, handmade items crafted with love and passion, and this month we highlight three of our favorites.
BEE LOCAL
Established late 2015, Bee Local is dedicated in providing the best organic locally sourced honey. A mother-daughter partnership between mother and daughter Juliet and Uniter Kidula, Bee Local sources its materials from a farm in Kakamega, adjacent to Maragoli Tea Farm. The mother rears the bees and the daughter sells the honey. They also focus on burlap, hessian and everything rustic. The duo started making wedding favors when they realized that honey makes a perfect gift for any occasion. After a few weddings, word spread and they got requests to expand to other event related items, and the favours were featured in Samantha’s Bridal Show.
Contact Juliet Kidula on +254703115747 or juliet@beelocal.co.ke for orders and delivery
BINTI’S NUT BUTTERS
Bintis is a thoughtfully crafted Kenyan brand that puts its customers needs front and center. Winnie, owner and creator of Bintis is a true nut butter fanatic and her idea is to share this passion with anyone who’s interested in discovering a new world of flavors. Binti’s Nut Butters are available in 5 tasty flavours: peanut butter, cashew butter, coconut cashew butter, almond butter and espresso almond butter.
They work hard to source their ingredients responsibly from suppliers who pay their farmers above market prices, store their products properly and test their nuts for aflatoxins. The peanuts and cashews are sourced from Equatorial Nuts because they produce export quality nuts. The almonds are imported from California, and the honey comes from the Kerio Valley region. The vanilla for the Espresso Almond Nut Butter comes from Ndali, a farm in Uganda that produces award winning vanilla beans and pods. The ground espresso is from Java.
Binti’s Nut Butters are available in Chandarana, Healthy U, Zucchini, Karen Provision Store and Elixir Health. Mama Rocks also use Binti’s Peanut Butter in their peanut butter milkshake and in one of their delectable burgers, the “Fela Supa”.
JARS OF GOODNESS
Jars of Goodness deals with preserves, pickles and chutneys that bring you that added zest in life. They have a wide range of products from jams and chutneys to salad dressings, chocolate spreads, nut butters and flavoured mustards and pesto. Neelma Malde established Jars of Goodness in 2011 in Mombasa. All their products are made from freshly picked local fruit, crafted by hand and are always free from artificial colourings and preservatives.The jars are recycled and have a really attractive look and design that add flair to any kitchen cupboard.There are numerous flavours in the Jars of Goodness range; pistachio and white chocolate, chocolate ginger jam, raspberry and white chocolate, rose petal jam, apricot chutney, orange, ginger and coriander marmalade, passion fruit curd,whiskey mustard and so many other flavours that taste just as good as they sound, if not better.
Jars of Goodness can be bought at the following stockists; Karen Provision Stores, Monty’s Sarit Centre, The Arbor, Lavington, Pink Skink Langata Link Shops and Hurlingham Butchery.
