East Cape Rural Industries

East Cape Rural Industries (ECRI) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop a network of labor-intensive micro-manufacturing businesses in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, focusing on rural handicraft producers. We have been exporting for the last ten years to North America and Europe.

We are now very much interested in working in close association with the Africa-American community. For this reason, we have been trying to make a contact with Kwanzaa, and in search for such a link we came across your organization in the internet. Specifically, we are interested in developing some crafts to which the African-American people will appreciate. In the spirit of "ebony kinship", we believe that such an effort is viable, that we can mutually develop handicrafts that embody African culture yet are sophisticated enough to satisfy the demanding American tastes.

By evolving such a link, we will be helping some of the poorest people in South Africa and, hopefully, we will satisfy some of the psychological-cultural longings of the African-American people. We are convinced that it is the right thing to do. What do you think?

Regards.

James Kariuki
Director