Legehama · Oromia Region · Ethiopia
Preserving Ancient
Craft for Living
Communities
Traditional skills training that builds economic independence and cultural pride for youth across Oromia.
The Disciplines
Living Crafts
A glimpse of what we teach — disciplines carrying centuries of knowledge, passed from master to apprentice.
Basket Making
Weaving fiber into vessels that carry goods and stories across generations.
Welding
Building the tools a community depends on.
Sewing
Stitching garments that express identity.
Pottery
Shaping earth into vessels for everyday use.
Stonemasonry
Cutting stone to build shelters for centuries.
Metal Smithing
Working raw metal into tools, jewelry, and implements of daily life.
Leather Goods
Tanning and forming leather into durable goods that outlast generations.
Our Impact
Building Futures Through Craft
In Legehama, subsistence farming dominates — and the traditional crafts that once sustained that economy are being underused and undervalued. The Kadijah Alisho Center exists to reverse that: bringing experienced craftspeople and eager youth together so that the skills that built this community can build its future.
Rather than formal vocational school, the center uses an apprenticeship model: students learn by doing, at their own pace, alongside masters of each craft. Skills are applied immediately. Knowledge stays in the community.
Our Mission
Craftsmanship is not a relic of the past — it is actively practiced, taught, and grown. We invest in the youth of Legehama so that cultural knowledge becomes new opportunity.
Honesty in every material used, every technique taught, and every relationship built with students and the wider community.
A student who masters their craft leaves with the capacity to earn, create, and sustain — needing no one's permission to build a livelihood.
Methods and materials that honor the land and can be passed down intact to the generation that follows ours.
Every skill shared here strengthens not just the individual who learns it, but the families, neighbors, and local economy around them.