After several years leading the forces at Cabin Creek Quilts, Malden resident James Thibeault was tapped to help develop and strengthen grass-roots industries in other parts of the world.

Most recently, he has applied his organizational and business expertise in Kenya, to a group called Jisaidie Cottage Industries.

When he arrived in Nairobi last August, Thibeault found potters, wood workers and weavers fashioning lovely trinkets and objects. But the marketing and distribution effort of their products had "become a dull-edged knife," Thibeault said.

The economy had taken a turn for the worse. AIDS was killing 700 Kenyans a day. Morale had withered.

So Thibeault -- who recently formed a local group to honor the Iraqi lawyer who helped U.S. troops capture Jessica Lynch -- hit upon an idea.

Market the crafts as products of the one-third of artisans suffering from the disease. Introduce them to AIDS-sensitive communities in the United States.

Thus was born "The Colors of Life" campaign, recently launched in Charleston through St. Johns Episcopal Church, where Thibeault is a member of the outreach committee, and Covenant House.

"It's the first time HIV/AIDS artisans' work has been brought into the United States as labeled products," he said.

For this first round, Thibeault is introducing square Jisaidie (which means help oneself) baskets made from banana fibers. Each contains a few Kenyan surprises wrapped in a handmade, tie-died scarf. The green-and-yellow color theme is based on lively hues suggested by a local interior designer.

Ironically, the Kenyans chose the life theme though so many are dying from AIDS.

"Each box is different in itself," said Rhonda Connard, AIDS coordinator for a 22-county area served by Covenant House. Of 200 people infected in Southern West Virginia, 10 are children.

The boxes, which cost $20 each, may contain a playful, carved soapstone snake box, a beaded necklace, a woven bowl and tiny, carved bush animals. Proceeds will help fund some of the needs of the local children with AIDS.

While AIDS kills so many in Kenya, people there accept the disease as West Virginians exist with flooding and mountaintop mining, Thibeault said.

Beyond the uniqueness of the handmade boxes and their contents, their origin may prompt more awareness of AIDS in this country, Connard said.

"It opens a lot of dialogue on AIDS," she said.

The Covenant House has about 40 boxes available for sale. However, Connard and Amanda Lowther also have gift certificates for later shipments of boxes. For more information about the banana boxes, call Covenant House at 344-0530 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Therese Smith Cox can be reached at 348-4874.

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