James, our “Slipper Man,” is an Artisan and resident of Kakata City, Liberia. To earn a living, James travels from village market to village market, selling used shoes out of his backpack. In his spare time, he crafts beautifully-made leather and cloth shoes, commonly referred to as “slippers” in Liberia. James also designed belts utilizing leather from Guinea and vibrantly-colored African cloth, “lappa”.

Joe fled to Salala during the 14-year civil war that ravaged Liberia. Prior to the war, Joe was an active artist. Since that time, he has struggled to practice his art. Today, he is once again picking up his tools and creating. He hand crafts earrings that depict common images life in Liberia; from the thick vegetation of the Liberian bush to the bustling and chaotic streets of Monrovia. He also uses recycled bottle caps as a canvas to paint Liberian pictures.

The Lazarus Group is an organization of disabled people who, due to their disability, are generally unemployed and estranged from their community. The group recently began a tie-dye and sewing initiative to empower themselves and develop an important skill-set. Through the sale of their hand-crafted tie-dye, these community members are now able to financially contribute to their families.

The Wellekama Group was started by Tumu Allen, a strong and confident Liberian woman.  Following her own training in weaving Country Cloth (a traditional Liberian technique and dress), Tumu decided to start her own initiative to empower the women of her community. The women of the Wellekama Group meet on a bi-weekly basis under a thatched-roof lean-to to weave cloth in various bright colors and designs. Bosh Bosh prurchases these materials for use in our “Made in Liberia” line of products.