Hand-carved from Kisii soapstone by African artisans, each box is uniquely handmade. The craftsmanship is superb. The base is carved from a single piece of stone, as is the top. Each piece is hand-painted and then etched with elegant tribal designs. Perfect for storing small items, special pieces, jewelry, and more. Makes a great, ethical gift. Product Features: Each Measures approximately 4 x 3 x 1.5 inches. Pack of 4. Soapstone is a soft stone, making it ideal for carving into many forms. Use care when handling to avoid breakage. Each piece has gone through multiple stages of sanding and waxing, giving the soapstone a satiny finish. Socially responsible products that empower consumers to purchase according to their values and help alleviate global poverty. Fair Trade is an alternative business model that values safe workplaces, fair wages and community investment for factory employees. Story Behind the Art: Each sculpture is artfully hand-carved from a single piece of Kisii soapstone, found only in the hills of southwestern Kenya. Mining the soapstone from surface hills is a labor-intensive process, using little to no machinery. Laborers works with shovels, picks, axes and machetes to carve out large soapstone chucks, which are then carved into beautiful art. 

Meet the Artisans
Our Soapstone is carved by a group of artists who live in the rural village of Tabaka, Kenya, the heart of soapstone crafts. They are members of the WFTO which assures that the artisans are paid a fair price for their work. In addition, the organization support community development by contributing to projects that improve living conditions, education, and health of their members and the village at large.  Their work is reducing poverty through economic transformation in a country where the majority are income-poor or near the poverty line.  

Story behind the Art
African Soapstone is among the most beautiful in the world. Mined by hand from surface mines large stones are pulled by a team of workers, cleaved into smaller pieces, and then worked into stunning art and functional objects.
Soapstone is mined from great pits in the area surrounding Kiisi, Kenya. The mined soapstone is then delivered to carvers who carve sculptures from the natural stone for the wholesale market, the color of which ranges from cream, to pink, to brown, to yellow, to black, to a marbling of all of them. Once carved, the craftspeople smooth rough edges of the soapstone with sandpaper dipped in water and polish the piece to a high gloss or paint African motifs in brilliant colors with etched accents.
These soapstone treasures are completely crafted by hand using household tools ranging from screwdrivers to hand drills to switchblades. Pangas (sword-like tools used for cutting down vegetation) are used to cleave the stone in the mines.
Given the handmade nature of this product please allow for minor variations in color, size and design.  Each piece is a one-of-a-kind piece of art. The soapstone carvers are a co-operative group that empower artisans in the Kisii villages. Women often work from their homes in order to care for children. The labor intense jobs are done by men, but women are involved with many parts of the creation such as sanding, polishing, painting, and packaging.<br>Empowering women in the community has a direct impact - providing supplemental money for school fees and money to feed the family.