For centuries people all over the world have carried their children in
various ways. One of the most common ones is the sling. All over the
world, in different times and places you'll find different varieties on the sling.
In South America, mothers carry their baby's in front of them in a
woven shawl while in Asia mothers usually carry their children on the
hip. The slings in Peru are called Mantas while the ones in Mexico are
called Rebozos and are basically a long scarf of wool or linen, painted
in beautiful colours. The Rebozo is not even tied together but held down
with the elbow. From childhood on the Tarehumaras are trained to do this
well.
There are fathers who go hunting or harvesting and have side- or hip
balanced slings to give them the freedom they need for their work. It's
not just the parents though who carry their kids, also children are
known to make use of slings to carry their brothers or sisters.
Perhaps it's because the ease of using a sling that this is the method
that you'll find to be used most in history. There is nothing more
basic, you grab a piece of fabric and you tie your child close to your
body. Yes, the sling has a long history and has been all over the world
but in our lives in the west it has been replaced by all sorts of modern
carriers. There is no need for this, especially since these other
products can never meet all of the advantages the sling has.
For modern people in a modern world we have based our sling on the
African variety they call the Kanga. The original Kanga is a long piece
of cotton printed in the most beautiful patterns often with a slogan or
a proverb. The African mothers often carry their children on their backs
enabling them to do fieldwork or cook. We stuck with the name and made a
selection of modern fabrics in modern colours. This combined with a
selection of different ways [not only African] to wrap the Kanga gives
you a modern product based on tradition and has been proven. Our Kanga
comes with an instruction manual in English or Italian which explains
seven carrying methods and gives you additional information.
We understand that you probably won't go hunting with your child on your
hip or back, but the Kanga does gives certain liberties to people in
modern live. You will find that you can use the Kanga under many
circumstances giving you a lot of freedom.
We keep our product completely natural, the Kanga's are handmade with
attention and care and we keep looking for good fabrics and materials.
We keep the balance between old and new ways and are open to ideas.
