Natural & Black Handwoven Raffia Placemat
This is a placemat that quietly suggests you might care more about dinner than you’re letting on.
What It Is
The Natural & Black Split Raffia Placemat is a handwoven, 12-inch round placemat made in Rwanda using a time-honored weaving technique passed down through generations. Crafted from natural raffia and hand-dyed black fibers wrapped around sweetgrass, it exists at the intersection of utility and restraint—simple in form, intentional in contrast. Sold individually, it works just as well as a solo statement piece as it does as part of a carefully mismatched table.
Why You’ll Actually Use It
Because it adapts to how people actually live. Use it indoors, take it outside, hang it on the wall when you want to pretend your dining space doubles as a gallery. It elevates everyday meals without feeling precious, and it holds up under real use. Once you realize it supports women artisans and long-term community investment, it stops feeling like table décor and starts feeling like a small, correct decision.
Key Details
Handwoven in Rwanda by women artisans
Diameter: 12"
Materials: Natural raffia, hand-dyed black raffia, sweetgrass
Sold individually
Includes loop on back for wall hanging
Suitable for indoor and outdoor dining
Spot clean only
Expect natural variations in size and color due to handmade process
Impact
Your purchase supports women artisans in Rwanda and Ghana through fair employment, entrepreneurship training, and access to global markets. Since 2007, profits from pieces like this have funded education and economic opportunities for over 1,100 artisans and 250 youth—proof that something as ordinary as a placemat can quietly participate in meaningful change.
The Natural & Black Split Raffia Placemat isn’t about dressing up a table—it’s about choosing objects that feel grounded, thoughtful, and just intentional enough to matter.
About the brand: Powered by People
Powered by People is basically what happens when “shopping small” gets a global operating system. Instead of mass-produced sameness, they connect you with makers who are spinning out hand-dyed textiles, hand-thrown ceramics, and jewelry that feels like it was pulled from an alternate reality where craftsmanship never went out of style. The through-line isn’t just aesthetics—it’s the insistence that every object has both utility and a backstory, often rooted in sustainable practices, reclaimed materials, and cultural traditions that would otherwise get bulldozed by the modern marketplace. In short: they’re trying to prove that conscious consumption doesn’t have to look like homework.