Save a forest by fighting protein deficiency

CPALI supporters,

The workshop last week was a tremendous success! As you may know, CPALI director Catherine Craig and design consultant Docey Lewis traveled to Madagascar last week to run an intensive design workshop with our team in Maroantsetra. The workshop ran for 10 days and covered a myriad of new techniques, cost of production analyses, designing new products and mastering new silk processing techniques.

The workshop was designed to include many different groups of farmers working with our project. Silk production farmers from both Ceranchia and Antherina communities contributed cocoons and got to see the design team in action. SEPALI artisans worked closely with Docey Lewis and learned gorgeous new dyeing techniques and product design. Insect-rearing farmers showcased their dragonfly rearing program with a surprise insect lunch for the whole team!

All and all, the team was able to dye more than 30 meters of fabric, master 6 new shades of dye, learn new techniques like shibori, fades and color mixing, and make gorgeous new products from combinations of dyed silk and embroidery. You’ll have to wait to see our secret new product line at the NY NOW gift show in August!

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support! This workshop means so much to us and to our team and will hopefully change our market options for the better. While Cay and Docey stop off in Paris on their way home to investigate market leads there, our team in Madagascar has already jumped right into the next mission. This week they will travel with international artist Kevin Ohanlon to assist with 4 environmental art workshops for kids in the rural communities surrounding Maroantsetra. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!