White beads

White bone beads from Kenya made from recycled cow bone

Kenya is known for its eco-friendly process of creating beads we use for home decor or jewellery making. These beads continue to play a role in traditional birth, marriage, death and coming of age rituals.

Other natural materials similar to bone used to make beads include horn, ostrich eggshells, marine and freshwater seashells such as clams, and also coral. Bone is unique among bead making materials due to both its strength and because it can be carved by hand and polished into many different shapes and sizes

These beads now help sustain economies and families in the villages where they are made. Bead making can be traced back through history almost 2 thousand years (a long post). The sellers that I get many of my beads from tell the stories how back in the 17th centuries the beads that were actually "traded" for goods and services and signified wealth.

Product Details

Size: 0.75"d