Our Story

Hope Hammocks began with a question few people ever ask: What could happen if women in under-resourced communities were given meaningful work, dignified wages, and a chance to rewrite their future?

In 2017, while working in Uganda, we saw this question everywhere — in the strength of single mothers raising children alone, in the resilience of widows rebuilding their lives, and in the quiet determination of women who had never been given the opportunity to learn, earn, or lead. Many had grown up without ever attending school. Most had been told, directly or indirectly, that their dreams were too small or that they had no place in the workforce.

But their potential was unmistakable.

In 2018, Hope Hammocks was born.

What started as an experiment — a simple idea, a bundle of thread, and a willingness to learn by doing — slowly grew into something extraordinary. Through countless hours of trial, error, testing, and innovation, a craft emerged in a place where it had never existed in this form. There is hammock weaving in Uganda, but not like this. The method we developed together created a new style of weaving unique to our program, and the women we trained became the first artisans of their kind on the continent.

Today, Hope Hammocks operates as the only hammock-weaving initiative of its kind in Africa — a place where women are empowered not through charity, but through the dignity of skilled, meaningful work.

Our artisans live in communities where stable employment is rare, especially for women without formal education. A steady income doesn’t just change a mother’s life — it transforms the future of her family.

For the single mothers and widows in our program, that transformation includes direct educational support for their children. When we employ a mother who is raising children on her own, we also ensure her children are able to attend school — sometimes for the very first time in their family’s history. Not every artisan requires this support, but for those who do, it becomes a lifeline: work provides dignity, education creates possibility, and together they break generational cycles of poverty.

Each hammock is handwoven on traditional looms, using techniques refined through years of hands-on learning. Every piece takes two to three days to complete — slow, intentional work that cannot be rushed.

These hammocks are not made in factories. They are created in the heart of the communities we serve — woven on front porches, under the shade of mango trees, in shared courtyards where women sit together, talk together, and weave together. Children laugh and play nearby. Neighbors stop to greet them. The craft becomes part of the daily rhythm of life.

What began as an experiment became a craft — and what became a craft grew into a livelihood for women who deserved the chance to thrive.

Every hammock is slow-made, skillfully woven, and intentionally crafted with comfort and durability in mind. But beyond the craftsmanship is a deeper story: every hammock represents dignity, empowerment, and opportunity.

Hope Hammocks exists for one purpose — to bring rest and comfort to homes around the world while creating stability, growth, and hope for the artisans who weave them.

We are not just creating hammocks; we are creating pathways. We are proving that when women rise, entire communities rise with them. And we stand in the belief that beauty and purpose belong together — in design, in craft, and in impact.

Every purchase supports skilled artisans, strengthens families, opens the door to education for vulnerable children, and helps ensure that hope becomes something families live — not just something they long for.