Eden Diodati: Ethical jewelery that helps Rwanda women ♦ ︎
In VicenzaOro September’s leading theme was the sustainability and ethical correctness of the jewelery world. The gold used by jewelers must be pure not only from a mineral point of view but also from a moral point of view. That is why companies such as Eden Diodati occupy a special place. Jennifer Ewah, is a British-Nigerian designer. She is a lawyer, she studied at Oxford University, but also she followed her vocation at Central Saint Martins in London and at London College of Fashion. She forgot about robe and the courts when she discovered her passion for jewels. But also for the ethical aspects, rights and hopes of those who are socially marginalized. Jennifer then decided to launch a brand of sustainable jewelery: luxury, but ethically correct. The name of the brand has two origins: Eden refers to paradise, while Diodati is the name of a Italian-Swiss theologian (1576-1649), in exile from Lucca, who translated the Bible for Lutherans.
But what’s most important is the company’s business, which offers work to orphan women and widows in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. The co-operative that was founded by two sisters for this activity provides work to over 5,000 survivors of genocide. Many of them have been HIV / AIDS sufferers after experiencing violence during the conflict in the 1990s.
From a humble start under a tree in a remote village, the nuns have taught about 20 women as beading cards or improving their abilities. In Italy, metal components are fabricated and finished before matching them with the golden Revelations of Rwanda. And the jewelery is now also sold online. Lavinia Andorno
