Our good friend Lesley Magnay has lived in East Africa for over 30 years. Her lifelong passion for Africa and interior design has resulted in this stunning range of accessories – straight from the Equator to your home. Working directly with a local family-run business, Lesley and the team of talented artisans design and produce unique hand-crafted items. No two pieces are the same. The idea for East African Trading came from a chance encounter with an exquisite Ankole Cattle Horn Bowl produced in Uganda.
Ankole (pronounced an-KO-leh) Cattle are indigenous to the East African Rift Valley where for hundreds of years they have been a source of currency and sustenance. Their long-elegant horns are a great tribal status symbol. The size and shape of the horns are of tremendous importance. These horns are a sustainable bi-product of the beef industry, and by purchasing these horns directly from the farmers, we are creating much needed additional revenue for the rural communities where income streams are limited. The horns are then hand-crafted into elegant jewellery and homeware items in a small Ugandan run workshop that currently employs over 25 staff and is endeavouring to expand its workforce.
We have many items from the East African Trading Company on display in our Bath showroom, so please feel free to come and have a look for yourself at these beautiful hand crafted pieces.
