Virtually every woman who saw Heather Smith鈥檚 sandals wanted a pair for herself. Handmade in Kenya, the beaded leather slip-ons had a distinctive look, with intricate, colorful patterns. Smith bought a pair in East Africa while she was visiting the island of Lamu to celebrate the 30th birthday of her sister, Alice Majid. The sandals got so much attention that Smith and Majid founded . The company produces high-quality Tanzanian sandals, sells them in the United States, and uses 5 to 10 percent of the proceeds to fund scholarships for nursing students in Tanzania, where Majid lives and works in public health.
鈥淟iving in Tanzania, Alice has a close-up view of that country鈥檚 shortage of nurses,鈥 Smith says. 鈥淎nd I see people in the U.S. shopping for things they don鈥檛 need and that aren鈥檛 built to last.鈥 Both sisters see the well-constructed, handmade Wazi (which means 鈥渙pen鈥 in Swahili) sandals as a way to counteract America鈥檚 reliance on disposable fashion and to use business as a force for greater good.
When the sisters searched for workshops that could produce the sandals they hoped to sell, they insisted on quality leathers and craftsmanship. Majid鈥檚 husband, Abdul, is a native Tanzanian who helped negotiate with producers and explain Wazi鈥檚 standards. 鈥淎mericans may like handmade things, but they鈥檙e used to mass manufacturing, so they expect a certain uniformity in the products that they buy,鈥 Smith explains. Women who order a sandal off Wazi鈥檚 website expect to receive what鈥檚 pictured鈥攏ot an improvisation by a bead artist.
Eventually, the Majids located the best leather workshop in Dar es Salaam, where 120 highly skilled shoemakers now assemble Wazi shoes. Some of the intricate beaded designs take up to 12 hours to produce. Women do most of the stitching and the beadwork, while men tend to be the ones who carry, cut, and glue the cowhide.
Wazi sources its leather from Mochi, a Tanzanian town that鈥檚 famous for its tanneries. Those soft, rich-feeling materials make Wazi sandals as comfortable as they are pretty. 鈥淭hey form to your foot and still look beautiful when they鈥檙e old,鈥 says Smith, who grew up riding horses. Caring for her saddles and tack gave Smith firsthand knowledge of how quality leather takes on an attractive patina as it ages.
Each pair comes with a handmade carrying bag made of kitenge, a fabric traditionally worn by Tanzanian women. It鈥檚 produced at the , where sewing students earn a coveted wage by stitching the bags. The shoebox is made from recycled cardboard.
I haven鈥檛 worn my Wazi sandals long enough to comment on their potential to age gracefully, but I have found them to be awesomely comfortable from day one. The leather thong feels soft and supple between my toes, and the beadwork is backed with a fuzzy suede that hasn鈥檛 caused blisters, even after a few hours of walking.
It feels just as good to know that the people who produced these sandals earned a fair wage in a pleasant work environment鈥攖he women sew and string beads while chatting at big tables in the workshop鈥檚 central room, while the men do the cutting and gluing in smaller studios off the main area. Wazi sandals represent much more than a vanity item: They鈥檙e an investment in the global good.