Kizylous Zulu

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role within the company?  

My name is Kizylous Zulu, and I am a resident of Mfuwe, Mambwe District in Eastern Province, Zambia. Also known famously as the Tribal Textiles choir master!

I have been a part of Tribal Textiles since 2005, where I started as a Dispatch Assistant. I've had varied roles here since joining, from office assistant to a Shop Assistant, leading me to where I am today as the Dispatch & Artisan manager.

Tell us about your job now. 

I’m organising a lot of export and online orders, which involves a lot of paperwork and tracking from the start to their final destination. I’m also overseeing the artisans that we work with, so I supervise them, help communicate orders and quality check – all of which involves travelling to each artisans home, as they often work from where they live.  

A favourite memory for me was with Kirstie our Director at Tribal Textiles, in 2014 at her beautiful wedding ceremony. I was honored to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with the Tribal Choir amongst my good friends, which took place at Chinzombo, also known as Time + Tide Safari Lodge. This experience is in a cherished place in my heart.

Tell us about a colleague past or present who was inspiring to you
I am so thankful for the mentorship offered by my former colleagues and managers - Kate, Rosie, Raph, and Allegra. Their willingness to share their expertise and assist me with various tasks has been key in shaping my journey.

In particular, Raph helped me a lot as we worked together for 7 years. She taught me how to handle export clients, how to be more efficient and how to deal with difficult situations. So, this I'm thankful for.

Do you have a favourite collection, design or product of Tribals? 

I have two! The first one is various animals and second is Mkupo, both because they remind me of our precious animals here and these designs are a important reminder that without animals we wouldn’t have Tribal Textiles or tourism.  

What has been the most memorable export order you have sent out?  

Oh wow, the memories! There have been so many !

We did have a huge order for Home Goods from the USA on two occasions. The first in 2017 when we shipped 66 Big Boxes! and the second was in 2021.

We also did an amazing bulk Artisan orders for Costal Drift from Australia in 2019. It's really quite amazing how the artisans can replicate their handcrafted products over and over.

I also have to mention the festive seasons we've had with online orders, we always get an increase for online orders we send to various countries across the globe, so I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our cherished customers worldwide. Your support means the world to us, and we are sincerely grateful for it! 

How would you describe Tribal Textiles?
Tribal is full of friendly people with big smiles and creatively talented people. It’s a great company that has made a huge impact on the community here and myself.