Transform Lives in Madagascar with Silk and Raffia

 GLOBAL GIVING REPORT: Sepali Madagascar workshop

(December 2023)

-        Acknowledgment : 

On behalf of the Sepali Madagascar team members, I acknowledge all the donors for your kind support to our project during this year 2023.

Your support allow the Sepali Madagascar to continue processing the silk and raffia that farmers produce specifically for this project.

Now, Sepali Madagascar is setting up a new partnership with farmers to produce seven species of endemic wild silk cocoon in addition to the Malagasy plant fiber such as Raffia, and water hyacinth. 

The Sepali Madagascar team is struggling to combine the wild silk material with the native plant fibers to create unique products that inspire by the wildlife in the Makira protected.

This year, Sepali Madagascar had available time to brainstorm and create a few new products that are directly advertised by our partner organization, Tananasilk (tananasilk.com)

We aim to continue creating more products in 2024 with a goal of providing new livelihoods to both silk producers as well as the artisan villagers.

Again, thank you Donors for your support during 2023 and we hope that you are continuing to support us in 2024.

Sepali Madagascar wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Sincerely

Mamy Ratsimbazafy

Sepali Madagascar Director

1-     Sepali Madagascar team at the workshop:

The Sepali Madagascar team consists of 16 fulltime workers in 2023. Among the team there are artisan weavers and sewers, a designer that oversees new design creations and the program is managed by a director. 

As we are working on the endemic wild silk cocoon that nowhere else has processed into finished products, the process from raw material into finished products is always challenging. Most of the wild silk cocoons cannot be spun therefore getting a silk thread is still an issue.  These difficulties demands collaboration between the Sepali Madagascar staff with the artisans and especially the input of knowledge and skill from our old farmers regarding the process that our ancestor used long ago.

The Sepali Madagascar team has learnt a lot of technical methods regarding the dyeing process using plants from the forest. 

Regarding to our weaving technic, Sepali Madagascar is  inspired by the traditional methods practiced by the Betsimisaraka ancestors (the ethnicity name of the people in our area)

 The Betsimisaraka weaving technic was transferred to Sepali Madagascar artisans by the learning from a few artisans that are still alive now ( they are about 90 years old now).

Picture1:  Sepali Madagascar team 2023

Picture2: Sepali team at work

2-     Sepali Madagascar design creation:

All the designs created by Sepali Madagascar are inspired from wildlife animals and plants that are endemic to Madagascar.  

2-1- The moth ornament:

For every single species of silk moth that Sepali Madagascar processed, there are farmers interested in rearing the larvae as well as farming their host plants.

We are working to match the colors of our finished products as close as the realistic wildlife using the plant dyes.

Picture3: Matching the realistic color of the comet moth ( Argema mittrei) with the silk ornaments.

2-2- Mosaic artwork:

 According to Sepali Madagascar, mosaic artwork is the opportunity of the Sepali artisans to create an interpretive art by combining diversity of colors of both silk and raffia materials that can be produced from dye plant.

The texture of the products is managed by the skill of combination of seven species of the wild silk. The result of the mosaic artwork are due the team brainstorming that is always inspired from everyday life in the area where the project takes place.

Picture4: New mosaic creation. First, this product express the sadness of the people in Maroantsetra who must face to 4 to 5 hurricanes every year and second, the joy and courage of people to stand up and celebrate for being alive (fireworks).

 Picture5: Madagascar dreaming mosaic conception

Links:

• SEPALIM home site
• Market site
• Project Mothership

GLOBAL GIVING REPORT : Sepali Madagascar workshop

September 2023

Acknowledgement:

On behalf of the Sepali team members, I acknowledge all the donors that contribute to support our project during the last three months. Your kindly donation allowed Sepali Madagascar to continue its effort of new design creation by combining our wild silk with plant fibers such as raffia and water hyacinth materials. 

 Sepali Madagascar is starting to purchase raw raffia from one of the thirteen villages that Sepali Madagascar is working with. Therefore, we have set a target of purchasing 120 kilograms of raw raffia fiber by the end of this year (December 2023).

The raffia processing by Sepali Madagascar brings income to averagely 10 households from Ambodivoangy village who have at least three raffia trees growing on their land.

Providing market of raw raffia will help farmers to preserve their raffia trees as well as planting more. 

Therefore increasing the raffia plantation is beneficial for the environment due to its roles in ground water cleaning as well as preserving the erosion. 

Again, thank you for your support.

Sincerely

Mamy Ratsimbazafy

Sepali Madagascar Director

-        Learning about the Betsimisaraka weaving technic:

Sepali Madagascar has been processing raffia fibers since 2016 by collaborating with the women weavers group from Antananarivo. Starting this year, we have decided to explore and valuate the existence of raffia materials in the communities that works with us.

Therefore, Sepali Madagascar was doing research on the Betsimisaraka (ethnicity name of people in our region) weaving technical. Historically, the Betsimisaraka woven raffia textile is very unique due to its character waterproof, so people made cloths and dresses made up of Raffia textile from the Maroantsetra region.

Nowadays, due to the importation of different materials of textiles, the raffia textile become unknown and unused. In addition to that, we have noticed that the youngest raffia weavers that is still alive is about 90 years old now. So the Betsimisaraka weaving technical methods is threaten to disappear forever.

Sepali Madagascar is doing effort to invite the few old women that still remember the betsimisaraka weaving technic to teach our team and then refresh the weaving activities that is going to disappear.

-        Picture 1:  the old women teaching us about the betsimisaraka weaving technic

-        New products design by combining the wild silk material with raffia fiber

The goals of Sepali Madagascar team is to create unique products by valuating the raw materials that exist in Maroantsetra area with respect of biodiversity conservation.

During the last three months, we used different technics to make raffia-wild silk products through weaving technic, gluing technic as well as crochet technic. 

Despite the time that the team spent to set up the traditional loom, the Sepali team is still motivated to go ahead and experiment with the process of raffia-cocoon combination. Therefore, two artisans are needed to work together, so one cut each single piece of silk and the other weaves.

Both of raffia and silk cocoons were processed into table runner, placemats, wall hanging-decoration, and baskets.

-        Picture2: ceranchia silk- raffia table runner and placemats

-        Picture3: silk-raffia basket

-        Picture4: silk-raffia wall-hanging (this product was made up with 7 species of endemic wild silk cocoons).

-        The next step for the rest of this year 2023:

-        The next step of the Sepali Madagascar program is to create textile art to apply for the Lowe Craft competition 2023. 

-        The second goal is to apply to the Santa Fe show 2024 by creating innovative products that will convince the jury to approve the Sepali Madagascar application.

Links:

• Market site to purchase SEPALIM products
• SEPALI MADAGASCAR PRJECT SITE
• MOTHER SHIP FOR CPALI PROJECTS