Patchwork sisterhood

Business: A new Washington boutique is bringing hope to Africa and to the capital | Zoe Sandvig

Photo by Katherine Brandt

WASHINGTON—Five blocks from the National Zoo, a banner outside a brick storefront on Mt. Pleasant Street announces the grand opening of Amani Ya Juu's first U.S. boutique. Amani, an organization started in 1996 to offer hope and trade skills to struggling women in East Africa, since its summer opening has added an artsy, fair-trade feel to the tony establishments in northwest Washington.

Inside the boutique colorful dresses, purses, and jewelry fill up shelves along orange walls, as girls in patchwork aprons scurry about making sure customers have enough chai tea latte. Brittany Noetzel, a 26-year-old with a glittery nose ring who co-manages the shop, helps her mom man the cash register.

Noetzel has had ties to Amani (Swahili for "higher peace") since 2004 when she traveled to Tanzania with a group from Wheaton College. While there, she met up with fellow Wheaton student Rachel Kistner, who was interning with Amani in Kenya and Rwanda. There, Noetzel observed women—many of whom had lived as refugees, endured famine, and survived genocide—interacting like sisters while crafting beautiful textiles. And even though her red hair and fair skin set her apart, she said she didn't feel out of place.