Red Owl Wooden Ornament

All the Mifuko painted bird and animal ornaments are carved by hand out of fallen jacaranda tree branches and surplus wood. They are made in Nicodemus and Cecilia’s Fair Trade workshop in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Nicodemus and Cecilia have a small family workshop specialising in wood carving, and Mifuko has been collaborating with them since 2010. Nicodemus' parents have trained all the artisans, thus passing on the handicraft tradition to a younger generation. Talented artisans do the entire process of carving, sanding, and painting by hand. While the branches are still soft, they are cut, carved into birds, and dried before sanding. The delicate wooden birds are then painted meticulously with water-based acrylic colours. Once painted, each bird gets six coats of clear varnish with time to dry between applications. Each bird takes several hours to finish, and each is unique.

Hand-carved from freshly fallen branches of the jacaranda tree. We never cut down trees for our products. While the branches are still soft, they are cut, carved into ornaments, and dried before sanding. The natural wood ornaments are finished without chemical treatment, bringing out the natural colour of the wood. The painted ornaments are finished with water-based acrylic paints and coated with clear varnish.

Handmade in Kenya