Sabahar began in 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the home of its Founder, Kathy Marshall and her family. The humble workshop employed one weaver, a couple women doing natural dyeing and a dream to introduce silk production and processing into Ethiopia. Through the years growth has been steady.
Almost 20 years later, they directly employ 98 people at the workshop and work with 75 weavers in their homes. They also cooperate with three weaving workshops and provide part-time employment for hundreds of spinners and silk producers.
More than twenty years ago, Sabahar started experimenting in the production and processing of eri silk which had just been introduced into Ethiopia. In fact, Sabahar’s name is a tribute to silk: Saba being the name of the Queen of Sheba (legend has it from Ethiopia), and ‘har’ meaning silk in Amharic.
Ethiopia has the oldest and most prolific textile weaving tradition in all of East and Southern Africa. From all ethnic backgrounds, men have been weaving on hand looms and women have been spinning cotton on drop spindles for centuries.
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Sabahar
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Phone
(+44) 01895 555-555
These skills, passed down through generations, are reflected in the beauty and uniqueness of every Sabahar piece.
Weaving is practiced throughout the country, with each community having its own unique techniques and designs. In the north, weavers are skilled in using 4-harness looms creating detailed textures and designs. In the south, weavers are experts in working with heavy weight cotton threads to create luxurious, knobbly cotton blankets.
In the small community around Kore, Addis Ababa Sabahar is fortunate to have weaving families who migrated from various areas of the country- bringing a great variety of skills and techniques. All of the cotton and most of the silk is produced in Ethiopia. Many of our natural dyes are from plants, insects and seeds found locally.
Sabahar produces towels, table linens, accessories, bath mats, cushions, blankets, throws, scarves and shawls. In 2022, they exported more than 55,000 items, and sold about 25,000 products locally. The average monthly production is about 8,000 pieces. Sabahar is a WFTO member and their textiles can now be found throughout the world as they export to more than 25 companies in almost twenty different countries.
The passion here is not to just ensure hand weaving and spinning livelihoods are respected and preserved, but more importantly, to strengthen and diversify traditional skills so they will still be relevant for years to come. This means practical innovation and investment in technologies and capacity building for artisans, as well as ensuring that products are globally available, competitive and desired. The highest quality possible in terms of materials and workmanship is their promise to their customers.
In addition, they are committed to sustainable, transparent and responsible production practices. In an effort to be a model of eco-friendly manufacturing, they use such innovations such as bio-gas to produce fuel for our dyeing department, solar heating for water, repurposing of textile wastes, and treatment and recycling of water discharge from the dyeing process.
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