making the product

The journey of your scarf

When buying a Sabahar product, you are buying a truly Ethiopian item- from the beginning to the end.

We buy eri cocoons from rural farmers and small women’s farming cooperatives that grow the castor plants, upon which the worms feed, and raise the silk worms. The castor plant grows easily in Ethiopia and is environmentally friendly plants. Until now, the raising of silk worms is done to supplement income and is primarily managed by women. Once the worms become butterflies and leave their cocoons, the cocoons are collected and brought to Sabahar.

The cocoons are then spun into fine thread by our spinners, both in their homes and in the workshop. The spinners use both drop spindles and spinning wheels.

The silk thread, along with the mulberry silk thread we purchase from Uganda and the locally grown cotton, are dyed. The thread is dyed in 100% natural dyes, many of them like coffee and flowers are locally sourced. The colorful thread is then woven on traditional looms, using age-old techniques but modern designs.

The products are designed by a variety of people. Some of the weavers come up with the design ideas themselves. Sabahar has also been privileged to have some designers from the fashion industry help us come up with some of the products.