Mzee Minja has been weaving Nomad cloths for over five years. Mzee Minja has poured his heart into making beautiful materials from bedsheets to cushion covers, that are sent out to most of our camps, adding that Nomad touch.
With a lifetime of experience, his traditional wooden foot-pedal loom clacks away in the little workshop just outside his backdoor. He has always been in this line of business, starting off in the big textile factories in Dar es Salaam running power looms since 1977, where he picked up much of his industry knowledge and passion for the work. Decades later back in Arusha, Mzee Minja invested in his own traditional loom and began making bed-sheets and covers, and his work got noticed by Nomad. As the orders grew, and some of Nomad’s unique ideas and style spilled over into his work, Mzee Minja developed a whole new array of products he was able to make. With a steady flow of orders, and a bigger range and variety, Mzee Minja took it to the next level and employed three other workers to help keep up.
To the rhythmic sounds of the loom’s hammer, the team of three create everything from scratch. Hand dying the cottons to the chosen colour, drying and weaving them together for our custom Nomad curtains, cushion covers and more. Mzee Minja is also able to expand into other markets selling these new product ideas and styles, growing his trade.
Out of their little workshop and our business partnership, these hardworking Tanzanians have managed to give their children opportunities that they themselves only dreamt of, and among their university educated sons and daughters are lawyers, teachers and business owners, no doubt inspired by their fathers.