Our Story

Through Kenana Down Under we dedicate ourselves to the empowerment of African women. 

In Feb 2011 Di Stitt, founder of Kenana Down Under, was in Kenya for her annual visit. She went to the Kenana Knitters at Njoro. As there was an opening for a distributor in Australia & New Zealand, Kenana Down Under was born. Kenana Down Under is now owned and operated by Tanya Branch.

It’s our privilege to be building a strong distributorship within Australia for the women of Kenana Knitters.

The adorable Kenana Knitter range is now found in galleries, zoos, gift stores, homewares' emporiums, women's and children's boutiques, in day spas and at markets. View our current stockists.

The range is also available to be ordered throughout the year by contacting us directly.

For enquiries about products please email hello@kenanadownunder.com.au or use our contact page.

Their Story

Kenana Knitters is a grassroots organisation situated near Njoro (Rift Valley area of Kenya) and was founded in 1998 by local Kenyan, Patricia Nightingale.  Patricia wanted to assist local ladies who were lacking a market for their homespun wool. Over time with clever designs, she and the knitters transformed the yarn into unique creations.   With a vision to further impact the community, Kenana Knitters taught women in the area to knit beautiful, organic cotton products using local, sustainable resources.  By providing a safe, family-friendly working environment, Kenana Knitters empowers women, offering them a chance to work and take charge of their lives, with pride and dignity.

Today, Kenana Knitters has 580 registered knitters on their books and currently 430 are active. There are at least 200 spinners looking after the provision of homespun wool. The organisation exports a collection of unique products to countries within African and around the world, to Europe, UK, USA, Japan and Australia. As well as providing the knitters and spinners a regular income through their knitting, Kenana Knitters provides a monthly health clinic for the women, including free eye checks and glasses if needed and no woman is asked her HIV status. A savings plan, daily newspaper and access to free electricity for phone and torch charging are also provided.  The Kenana Knitters are changing their lives, stitch by stitch.

Kenana Down Under proud to be the sole distributor for the Kenana Knitters in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

• The Kenana Knitters are based on Kenana Farm, Njoro. The farm is approximately 2.5 hours drive west south west of Nairobi. It is about 1/2 hour drive from Nakuru, the closest major town.

• Founded in 1998, Kenana Knitters LTD now works with around 500 knitters and spinners from the Njoro area.

• Wool is sourced locally in Kenya. It is hand carded and spun by Kenana Knitter spinners then, if needed, it is dyed at Kenana Farm using plants and vegetables.

• The plants and vegetables used for dyeing are either found on the farm or purchased at local markets eg beetroot and red cabbage are from the markets and the dahlia flower field or trees on the farm provides the petals or leaves for certain colours.

• The dyed wool is washed and dried before being allocated to various orders for the knitters.

• Organic cotton is sourced from Tanzania and is purchased in bulk, machine spun into a uniform yarn, bulk dyed using eco-friendly dyes and then hand knitted by the ladies.

• The Kenana Knitters exports to UK, Europe, Japan, USA, Australia and South Africa. They also have a growing East African market.

• Sizing - All the sitter critters (Shamba, Safari styles) are measured from the top of the head to the base/tail.

• Sizing - All the long limbed critters (Spider - wool and cotton) are measured from the top of the head to the tip of the toes/feet.

If you have a question about the Kenana Knitters please email us at hello@kenanadownunder.com.au and we will do our best to answer you.