Q: How did Zimbags start?
A: Zimbags started as a desire to help women living on less than $1 a day. Lauren and Meghan (friends and former roommates) knew they had to do something to help women in Zimbabwe after a friend returned from a trip to the country where political, economic, and health problems are rampant. So, in 2006, the women took it into their own hands, found women who were living in poverty and had immense artistic ability, and came up with a business idea that provides fair, living wages to the women artists. As the time has gone on they have fallen in love with the women and Zimbabwean culture and want to see it preserved and passed on through the artwork. While things have been too unstable to travel to Zimbabwe, we keep in contact through phone calls, email, and text messages to make sure the women are doing well and received photos and updates from a friend who visited the country recently. We hope to travel to Zimbabwe soon and meet these women who have touched and changed our lives.
Q: Where does Zimbags work?
A: Zimbags’ 5 women artists work in Bulawayo – the 2nd biggest city in Zimbabwe. The 2 Zimbags Co-Directors (aka Happy Bag Elves) live and work in the greater Seattle area in Washington State. Zimbags also has partners, friends, and fans all over the country – and they do the work of spreading the word about what is happening in Zimbabwe.
Q: Where do you get your bags?
A: A really awesome place called EcoBags. They sell the recycled canvas bags and GreenBags that serve as the background for the beautiful artwork painted by women artists in Zimbabwe.
Q: Who puts the patches on the bags?
A: 2 Happy Bag Elves in the greater Seattle area in Washington sew, screen print, zipper, package, stamp, and fold final products. All the artwork is all done by women artists in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but is assembled in the US to save on shipping costs. Even the stamps and screen prints are based on designs made by the women artists.
Q: Can you tell me about sadza?
A: Absolutely. Sadza(pronounced Sud-za) is corn ground into a fine meal, often cooked and served with vegetables or meat sauce. A staple in Zimbabwe, it can also be used to create a beautiful painting. The painting technique involves using sadza on the fabric to separate colors when applying paint. After the paint is applied, the canvas is left to dry. Once dry, the fabric is washed of the sadza, leaving behind beautiful Zimbabwean designs.
Q: How much money goes back to the women in Zimbabwe?
A. Because we don’t rent office space or take salaries, our overhead costs are very low. That means almost all of the money from your purchase goes right back to purchase more artwork from the women artists. We don’t rely on grants or use credit, so all money is derived from donations or purchases. That is why we are so thankful for you, our customers and supporters!
Q.Where can I get myself a Zimbag, pourch, journal, or other Zimproducts?
A: At our Zimstore! We are finally up and running. Click on the “Shop” tab at the top of the page or the "Shop Zimbags" link at the bottom of the page. You can enjoy shopping at Zimbags, knowing that you are making a difference. We are also on Etsy, here. You can also find us at a wonderful place in Redmond, Washington called
Soulfood Books. Their website is here and visit them in person here:
We are also at the Crossroads Farmer's Market in Bellevue, Washington this summer and fall. We'd love to see you there!
Are you interested in carrying Zimbags in your store, market, or at an event? Let us know and we'll make it work!
Q: What if I want a million Zimbags? Do you have wholesale pricing?
A: Well, we may not be able to fill a million-bag order, but we can provide you with wholesale pricing if you email us at contact@zimbags.org. Because we use the Zimbabwe post to ship artwork, it may take longer to process wholesale orders.
Q: How many people does Zimbags help?
A:Start with 5 women artists and add in their 26 dependents, and right now we are helping a grand total of 31 people by providing jobs with fair wages. But if you add in the number of people who can derive hope from Zimbags, the numbers skyrocket. The more bags we sell, the more people we help.
Q: How can I get involved in this spectacular organization?
A: First and foremost, buy a bag and tell a friend! What a better way to help than to spread the word about the beautiful artwork created by women artists in Zimbabwe. Second, we are always open to volunteers. We can come up with a job for you or you can tell us what you want to do and we will try to work with. Third, donate. We rely on the donations and purchases of people like you to continue employing our women artists. Fourth, be creative! We are open to hearing how you would like to help and love to see people put their talents to use. If you want to get involved in any of these ways, let us know by emailing us at contact@zimbags.org.
Q: What are you doing to help the environment?
A: It all starts with the bags, made from 100% recycled fibers or recycled plastic, they are eco-friendly right from the start. Then when you use it in place of a paper or plastic bag at the store, you are helping the environment and the bag continues its life helping the environment. And when you give a bag as a gift, you are passing on the trend and helping someone else join the bag revolution. We also use paper made from recycled paper bags to make our tags and cards and print our information. We try to keep everything online and off paper as much as possible, to keep our paper trail small. If you have any ideas for us, we’d love to hear from you!
Have more questions for us, like what’s our favorite food and can you send it to us? Shoot us an email at contact@zimbags.org and we will answer your questions.