Milundumo Group: makers of Shinyanga Bells

The tiny rural village of Zakaluba is 40 kilometres from Shinyanga town, down narrow winding tracks and is the home of Milundumo group.  There are 15 members – 11 men & 4 women – who make ox ploughs and other country products: jikos or charcoal stoves, and various farming tools.

The main tribe in this area is Sukuma and most members of the group have large families, so there are about 100 people who benefit from the group income.

As well as paying a fair price for the bells, our fair trade project also pays a bonus to the group when all the work has been delivered to our satisfaction.  When asked what they would spend this on, the group replied that they would buy a shearing machine to make their workshop more productive. The goat bells have been one of the most popular of the fair trade products and have sold out long ago, so we are ordering plenty more.  Their shearing machine is on the way!