Welcome Page

Hi All,

Thank you for visiting us today.

Project Sierra Leone is the brainchild of Sierra Leonean born Margaret Kadi

The whole ethos of Project Sierra Leone is that everything we sell is handmade by talented Sierra Leoneans.  Our aim is to work with Sierra Leonean Artisans that will bring you cutting edge collections and work on private orders just for you.

Here you will find a collection of merchandise that has been put together with the fashion forward, unique woman in mind.

Margaret had lived away from Sierra Leone for 17 years and recently went back for a holiday.  She was so inspired by the wonderful craftspeople her country has to offer.  She met with a few artisan women and watched them make the most amazing beaded products like placemats and clutch bags.  After that, she then decided to get them to make a selection of accessories in simple designs that could hopefully be presented to a wider market.  Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world so there is little demand for these products.  The only time they sell their wares is when an influx of tourist arrive in the ports which is not very often.

We work with predominantly women and all of them are paid a fair wage.  By this we mean they are paid the prices that they set for each product. They are also paid 50% deposit for all orders that are placed in advance of production.

All the products we use are locally sourced. 

Please email us if you have any queries – projectsierraleone@yahoo.com or you can call on +44 7947 761 820

Our website is currently being developed so we will update you on how things are progressing in the coming weeks.

I love fashion but I don't follow trends.  I think it is very important to have your own style.  You can never go wrong with Classic pieces so make sure you have the basic staples that every woman needs in their wardrobe.  This could be a well tailored white shirt, Khaki pants or a fabulous LBD (Little black dress).  Armed with these you can then accessorise with the best ARM CANDY around! 

All the above bags are handmade beaded clutch bags that are all lined in the finest African wax cotton fabric.  They all have a zip as well for easy access.  Because they are all handmade there might be slight variations in sizes.

African fabric lining in clutch bags.

Calabash Handbags Anyone?

I do like to push the boat out a bit so please bear with me!  On my recent visit to Sierra Leone I was very interested in making handbags with different materials.  I met a skilled 26 year old man who made beautiful bags with coconut shells.  The only problem with this was that the bags were really small because it is very difficult to get a a very large coconut shell.  It got me thinking and I then thought about making the same bags but with 'calabash' as they come in different sizes. Calabash basically grows on a tree and then it gets treated, chopped in 2 and then used by African women to wash rice amongst other things.

This is what the calabash fruit looks like after the green casing has been taken off.










After this stage they were then cut in two and polished a few times to give it a good shine.  They were then drawn on using an indelible maker and polished again.  The inside of this fruit is quite porous so it needed quite a lot of polishing as it kept absorbing it each time!  Below are the finished 'Calabash Handbags'.  I wanted them to look quite african so I drew different African Village scenes on all of them.

They all have a zip that goes all the way round the bag.  They also have a braided raffia handle so you can clutch the bag.  I thought it best to use a natural material like the raffia/straw because the calabash is quite natural too.  This bag is big enough for a standard mobile phone, credit card, money and a lipbalm!  That's all we need right?

Hi there,

Sorry it's been a while since I last updated you.

It has been an absolute crazy time as I have been doing everything to spread the word on what we do.  It has proved to be worthwhile because we have recently been on the cover of the 'African Voice Newspaper' and we are in this month's 'FAB Magazine' which is a quarterly magazine on everything african.  Onwards and upwards I say!

The website should be ready in a few weeks time but in the meantime below are some of our new designs.  Hope you like them!

Versatile Kaftans

I have never been one to wear African inspired clothing but I think going back to Sierra Leone awoke something in me.  It wasn't hard actually because at the end of the day African fabrics are so rich and fabulous in texture that it didn't take long for me to embrace my heritage.  We have a street in Freetown called Malama Thomas Street that is full of rows and rows of shops that sell textiles.  You can find the most amazing delights down that street ( it is a long street though)!  I have never been scared of colour so excuse the pun but this was 'right up my street'.

These beautiful Kaftans are not just suited for the beach.  Try wearing with skinny jeans, leggings etc.  They are cut low around the neck so if you decide to wear it anywhere but the beach you might need to wear a little vest underneath.  But then again if you don't mind the low cut then off you go sister!