HANDWOVEN IN IRINGA, TANZANIA
Woven by Hands. Blessed by Tradition.
Every Fortress of Blessing bag is woven by hand by women in Iringa, Tanzania, then carried home to you from our small shop in Denver, Colorado.
WHY “FORTRESS OF BLESSING”
The home we always run to
In Iringa, the small houses sit beneath the mountains, and every one of them is a kind of fortress: the place you come home to. That is where the name comes from. Our culture and our heritage are our fortress, wherever in the world we live. And the blessing is how grateful we are to carry them with us.
Every bag we sell carries a little of that home to you.
“How blessed we are, having our culture and our heritage. That’s our fortress.”
Fariji Cannon, founder
HOW IT IS MADE
From the grasslands of Iringa to your hands
These baskets began as everyday tools in Tanzania, used for market days, for carrying food, and for taking grain to the mill. Each one starts as milulu grass, a reed-like grass gathered by hand along the rivers of the southern highlands and dried in the sun. The women of Vikapu Bomba reimagined these baskets as bags you can carry anywhere.
Each bag is woven by hand over days of careful work, then finished with leather straps and handles. No two are exactly alike. Small differences in color and weave are the mark of real hands, not a flaw.
100% handwoven.
MEET THE MAKERS
The women behind every bag
Our bags are woven by the women of Vikapu Bomba, “fantastic baskets” in Swahili, a weaving enterprise in Iringa founded by Catherine Shembilu in 2011. It began with six weavers. Today more than 300 women across the Iringa and Njombe regions weave with Catherine, many of them widows, and their baskets are sold in 21 countries.
When you buy a Fortress of Blessing bag, you are supporting their work and their families. Catherine’s own label goes on every bag alongside ours, because we do this together.
Catherine Shembilu
Founder of Vikapu Bomba · Iringa, Tanzania
Fariji Cannon
Founder · Denver, Colorado
From the Journal
Stories from Iringa, the women who weave, and the bags they make.
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Meet the Women Artisans Who Weave Our Bags in Iringa, Tanzania
More than 300 women in Iringa and Njombe weave our bags with Vikapu Bomba. Here is who they are, how the work is organized,…
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The Four-Hour Walk Before the Weaving Begins
Before a single strand is woven, the women walk about four hours there and back to gather milulu grass. This is where every bag…
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Why a Handwoven Tote Takes Seven to Nine Days to Make
Seven to nine days of weaving, by one woman’s hands, after the grass is already gathered and dried. Here is what goes into one…
THE COLLECTION
Find the one that is yours
Each piece is one of a kind. Tap any bag to see it on Etsy.
Totes
Oversized Brown Market Tote
$148
Large Brown Basket Tote
$125
Large Black and Natural Tote
$125
Large Sage Green Tote
$125
Backpacks
Mustard Gold and Sage Backpack
$235
Sage Green and Mustard Backpack
$170
Navy Blue Backpack
$170
Black and Natural Backpack
$170
Burnt Orange Backpack
$170
Crossbody and bucket bags
Black and Gold Crossbody
$135
Black Bucket Bag
$100
Black Crossbody with Brown Strap
$100
Black Crossbody with Tan Strap
$100
Ships from Denver
Packed with care by Fariji in Denver, Colorado.
Secure checkout on Etsy
Buy with the protection you already know.
Every bag is a blessing
Made with intention, carried with gratitude.
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow the story
New bags, life in Iringa, and the women who weave them. Come along with us.