Creative Women

I recently stumbled across a business online called Creative Women. It specializes in hand-woven textiles.
I was particularly impressed by the founder and the work that she is dong to empower rural women not by giving them handouts, but by utilizing their unique hand-weaving skills. This business is not only transforming women's lives in Ethiopia, but also in places such as Mali, Swaziland, and Afghanistan. I must say their products are very good and more importantly Creative Women is transforming communities by empowering women who as most research today states are more effective in improving the lives of their families, and communities at large.

Ugandan Textile sector shifts to Regional Markets.

According to the East African Business Week, The Uganda Textile Sector is now shifting it's attention to the Regional Markets other than relying on the US Markets alone. Apparently the Whole AGOA thing  is not working out as it was meant to be. The decision was made after an AGOA meeting in Nairobi last year where a number of African Countries thought it best to focus on Regional markets now.
Uganda is now offering a number incentives to promote the Textile sector including a ten year corporate tax holiday.

African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA)

What comes to you mind when your hear about AGOA and its effects on Africa?. Well i think about opportunity,  whether it turns out to be true or false that is another topic to discuss. I think it is important to understand what AGOA is all about. Well, in simple terms AGOA offers Sub- Saharan African exporters of Apparel, hand crafted items and , hand-loomed items, and about 1800 non textile items free access to US markets. However their are some requirements that each country has to meet for example placing measures in place to fight against child labor practices, corruption, and ensuring human rights and protecting the rights of workers.

Hand Weaving in Ethiopia

Apparently hand weaving in Ethiopia is not merely something that women do. According to the Creative Women's Website, For centuries  Ethiopian weavers, mainly in the Dorze and Chencha areas of southwest Ethiopia, have woven netelas and gabbies on traditional looms using centuries-old patterns and designs. Traditional it is the men that do the weaving on pit-style looms that are setup outside the house.

Kitenge

A Kitenge is a textile garment that is very common in African fashions.

It is common to see it also every where that you go. It is created  by using rotary spinning machines. Kitenges are sold in lengths sufficient to cover ones body.  Also depending  on the occasion, specific patterns are designed for example, engagement functions,  national holidays, jubilees etc.

Source of our suppliers- Gulu town.

Gulu is a town located in northwestern Uganda, situated about 175 miles (285 km) north of Kampala at an elevation of about 3,600 feet (1,100 metres). It is the marketing centre of the main agricultural region of northern Uganda; cotton, tea, coffee, corn (maize), sorghum, and tobacco are grown in the surrounding area. Processing industries in Gulu handle cotton, coffee, tea, and oilseed and grain milling. Cigarettes, textiles, footwear, matches, and beverages are also manufactured in the town.

Why Fair trade?

I think it is crucial to understand why it is important to get involved in fair trade.
There are a number of reasons why but i found the following to be very significant.
- Payment of a fair wage.
- Economic Sustainability
- Creating opportunities for the marginalized.
By engaging in Fair Trade we the connect consumers to the producers and artisans who create the products we buy. This encourages us as consumers to think about where our products come from and what went into producing those products.

Fair Trade

The concept of fair trade is not something new. For years now many organisations have adopted this concept as part of their business model. I think it is an awesome idea. why should we have to take advantage of others?. Is making extra profits really necessary? Why can't we partner with producers and see to it that we come to fair agreements that benefit every one involved. In Africa today Organizations such as Awava are doing this and making good progress. When we talk about alleviating poverty in Africa many people think that giving aid is the best way. What about partnering with the locals and utilizing their skills and abundant resources to see to it they empower themselves . As it is said it is better to teach a man how to fish than simply give him a fish.

Recyclyed paper products

The emergency of the Green movement seems to have taken the world by storm. Some people may not agree
with it as others do. That being said it is important to note that it has reached far off areas such as Gulu in northern Uganda where rural women from internally displaced camps make paper beads using paper.
This has become a way of making a living for these women and empowered immensely.

Beaded Jewelry

It just so happens to be that Jewelry doesn't necessarily have to be made of gold or silver.
You can can have them made of natural gem stones as is case with the beaded Jewelry made by the Karamajong on Uganda.

African Batiks

I have always loved contemporary African art pieces. Recently, I have been educating myself about the different kinds of African art pieces and how they are created.
This led me to what are known as Batiks, these are one of my favorite pieces but as i found out, it is a long process to create them.
-In traditional batik work, melted wax is applied to cloth before the colorful dyes are applied.

-It is common for people to use a mixture of bees wax and paraffin wax. The bee's wax will hold to the fabric and the paraffin wax will allow cracking, which is a characteristic of some batiks.

-Often the cloth is dipped in the dyes, sometimes the dye is painted on the fabric. Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colors are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps.

-Batiks are made by brushing hot liquid wax onto a piece of cotton cloth in the desired pattern. The wax acts as a barrier to the dyes that are then applied to the cloth. The dyes are then applied to the areas that are not covered by the wax.

-The wax is then removed and reapplied repeatedly to mask off other areas of the cloth, and then different colors are applied. I was not aware of this process most especially the use of bee wax. As i said earlier Batiks are great contemporary art pieces to have in your collection.