Since the last post the WAZO team has been working really hard on designing their first working prototypes.  Since our trips to the workshops the group was interested in making a shoe that could sell in the tourist markets and at home.  The group is also developing an open toe shoe for low cost but we are getting the hardest studd done before Paul and Ben leave.

The green plastic “foot lasts” you see above are something we never thought we would be able to get in Kenya but they are readily available here in Mombasa.  These really help to develop the geometries of a shoe so they look right.  These “lasts” do not represent the shape of the human foot, instead they are made to represent the foot that we think we have.  Really it is called a “shoe last” because it helps to make a shoe that we recognize as looking correct.

In Kayafungo some people’s feet are wider than usual becasue they do not use shes on a regular basis.  However, we were suprised to find that the average foot sizes are relatively small and many people have been able to fit our prototypes.

One of our final prototypes is called the “Rangi” meaning color.  THese are made out of soft Kikoi material which is a common wrap for men in the village.  This material makes for a really beautiful and dynamic covering for the outside of the shoe.