This means slowly, in Swahili, because slowly (and by hand) they are made, these animals from T-Lab, a Japanese woodcraft company.
The creatures are hand carved from soft wood and then hand painted, so each Pole Pole animal is slightly different.
The extra fine details give them a very unique expression.
For example, look at the face of this grumpy dog:
As a group the animals can give you a whole new state of mind. Doesn’t that make you smile?