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

I’m Richard Mwanza. I started at Tribal textiles in 1998. In the beginning I was a painter, then in 2000 I changed from a painter to a colour mixer, which I still do today. So it's been 26 years! 

Why did you pick Tribal Textiles? 

I could see the work at Tribal Textiles was being made by hand by local people and it interested me. When I arrived, I knew a few people already working here who only said good things about the company. 

Tell us about a colleague past or present who was inspiring to you. 

Nathan! He was advising me how to cooperate with people, how to work in a large company, to be friendly and how to work as a team. Also, Benjamin, he was part of the group I knew in the beginning, and he was encouraging me to work within the mixing department that I now head up. 

What is the most challenging part of your job? 

At Tribal Textiles being a slow made goods company we don’t have any recipes for mixing colours so I mix everything by eye. This means for every product I’m using my eyes and my brain to work out the colours to get a perfect match! I’m known as the mixing magician. 

This beautiful part of the hand-made good process just goes to show the extra care and love that our products go through before reaching your hands.