I met Baraka in the Kilimanjaro village where I lived for two years. I mean, of course he was here before, as he was born in the village, and he is Chagga. The slopes of the Kilimanjaro are the home of his tribe.
Baraka is an artist. He studied at the famous College of Arts in Bagamoyo on the shore of the Indian Ocean in Tanzania. He also learned a great deal out of personal experience ever since his teen years, and from fellow artists he met along the way.
100% hand made bag- Beads details and string weaving- Baraka Art.
Baraka creates rare bead works in their complexity and detail. He’s a painter and a sculptor. His work is inspired by his tribal heritage and Tanzania’s in general. He is currently working on building the traditional hut of his tribe, the Chagga tribe, a hut that all but disappeared from the landscape of modern African life.
Baraka draws and paints beautifully.
On the right: Mama Kilimanjaro and life around her. klick to enlarge.
Bead making workshops
Ove day I asked Baraka to teach me the Maasai beading technique.
Here’s my first bracelet:
After that Baraka started giving bead workshops for the guests of the guesthouse. Everybody loved him!
When in Tanzania, come visit and you can meet him too.
The Kweme earrings project
When I one day discovered the beautiful shells of the local kweme nuts and made earrings out of them, I knew Baraka would love the idea.
Indeed, he immediately started making earrings that surpassed mine in beauty and in creativity.
Read about the unique Kweme nuts and about my Kweme earrings project.
Baraka is offering his Kweme earrings and more of his art for sale locally, and hopefully soon it will also be possible to order from anywhere else in the world!
For now I’m offering them for sale in my home country Israel.
Follow Baraka on Instagram:
