As well as luxury handbags, Maasai Colour is hoping to be a force for good in Africa. Ruth Addicott talks to co-founder Peter Hansell, who divides his time between North Yorkshire and Nairobi

The vibrant colours and beautiful beadwork of the Serengeti could soon be spotted on the streets of the North-East thanks to a new luxury handbag label launched by North Yorkshire entrepreneur Peter Hansell.

Peter, 26, who grew up in Wensleydale and went to school in Richmond, set up the ethical label, Maasai Colour, with two university friends, Sonam Haria and Simon Tomkins, with the aim of helping entrepreneurs in Kenya get their own businesses off the ground and improving the standard of living in local communities.

Working from both the UK and Kenya, they have a workshop in Nairobi and a team of five skilled tailors, led by Mary Mwangi, who trained in Milan and previously worked for Vivienne Westwood’s Ethical Fashion Initiative. The bags are all hand-made, constructed from good quality soft leather and take half a day each to make.

“We want to become the Kenyan Mulberry,” says Peter. “The beadwork is the focal point. About 2,000 beads go into each bag which is about 700 hand stitches. Africa doesn’t have a premium fashion label, certainly in terms of handbags. In Italy you’ve got Prada and Gucci and England has got labels like Mulberry and there is no reason why Africa shouldn’t have that, so what we are trying to do is put together a team of people with enough dedication to produce products which are a step up in quality compared to what has long been accepted as African handicraft. We want to be the first premium African fashion label.”

Peter was first introduced to Kenya by Sonam, who grew up in Nairobi before moving to London to go to university, which is where they met. As the founder and director of Maasai Colour, Sonam is the main fashion influence while Peter, who quit his job as a management consultant in London, has taken on the business side. “Sonam wore a lot of African prints and had quite a unique style which got a lot of attention in London, so we basically took that concept and decided to make bags that had that quality,” says Peter.

The Pendeza collection, named after the Swahili for ‘elegance’, features eight different designs including the Savannah bag. This mirrors the shimmering sands of the African plains and its signature shield design pays homage to the Maasai warriors.

Featuring intricate hand-stitched beading and bright bold colours, the bags are all made from jute, a locally sourced natural plant fibre, and high quality leather which is hand-picked and produced and tanned in Nairobi. Prices range from £135 to £220 and a second collection is due to launch this winter. “We are trying to carve out a middle ground with really well-made products at a price that is still accessible,” says Peter.

Sustainable development is at the heart of the project which is also aiming to help local communities through the Maasai Colour Entrepreneurship Programme.

“The plan is to start an entrepreneurship fund so every sale we make, we carve out some money and put it into a pot to support local entrepreneurs in Kenya who have good ideas and businesses they want to start,” says Peter. “Our aim is to give them a leg up. We’ll mentor them as much as we can and help out with contacts and as their business starts to find its feet and make money, they’ll pay back that loan, it will go back into the fund and we’ll lend it out to the next entrepreneur. Hopefully, as this begins to grow, we’ll be able to help more and more people.”

It took six months to get the workshop up and running in a converted house on the outskirts of Nairobi. As well as having to make their own tools, the team have also had to contend with all sorts of logistical challenges from having the first sewing machines delivered on one-wheeled bicycles to having the front door removed overnight from their workshop.

“When we first moved into our premises, it didn’t have a door,” explains Peter. “So we built a metal door and because it was metal and it was useful, the first night it was put on it was taken. So we decided to do it the Kenyan way and get an old wooden door and that’s been there ever since.”

With no reliable bus or train service, they also have to rely on materials being delivered by handcart or rickshaw. “We’ll pay someone and they’ll navigate their way across Nairobi,” says Peter. “They’ll put things on the back of a lorry and run alongside or put them on a bike and hitch a ride. We transport the bags by bike rickshaw out to the airport.”

Despite the difficulties, the bags have already proved a hit with retailers. As well as online, the handbags are stocked in four boutiques in London and at Upstairs Downstairs Boutique in Ripon, North Yorkshire. They will also be available at Browns department store in York and, from January, at Barkers of Northallerton.