Gender Equality Madagascar Project #18940

Artisan Training for Women in Madagascar

by Conservation through Poverty Alleviation, Int

Project Report | Aug 25, 2016
New grant helps build momentum

By Kerry O'Neill | Assistant Director

SEPALI artisans enjoy new book by Tim Barclay

This summer, the SEPALI program was conditionally selected for a small grant award from the Ambassador's Self Help Program in Madagascar! The grant, which is scheduled to be funded from September 2016 to September 2017, will allow the SEPALI team to expand the silk program and increase the accessibility of the project to artisans in rural communities.

Our success with the grant is due, in part, to the exciting momentum that has been building since the design workshop with consultant Docey Lewis this past March. Since the workshop, artisans have been producing colorful silks and filling orders at a staggering pace. The new color line is now officially released and the range of products produced by the team has expanded from our original silk panels to new materials, colorful dyes, intricate patterns and intriguing new uses for the silks. The team recently tapped into some of the training center funds as well to construct a new silk drying house and a dyeing house. Consequently, the workshop model has evolved from an intermittent schedule with a handful of workshops per year into a continuous, year-round production with opportunities for women to earn money every week.

The unintended consequence of the continuous design workshops is that they favor Maroantsetra-based artisans with the means and luxury of a short commute. In an effort to better engage the surrounding rural communities in the artisan craft again, we have been pursuing means of funding the expansion of the program, including the Ambassador's grant.

Our responsibility in this grant is a significant one. While the grant promises to help with equipment and resources, it relies on the greater SEPALI community to contribute the expertise, training, transportation and project implementation on the ground. Any donations you can contribute towards this end would be greatly appreciated! Keep your eyes peeled for the exciting new developments this year and thank you for your support.

New silk drying house constructed this summer

Dyed blue baskets

"Moon over Makira" dyed tapestry

Shibori raffia products

Colorful "Lemur tails" drying in the sun

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May 26, 2016
Design workshop opens the door to new markets

By Kerry O'Neill | Assistant Director, CPALI

Product Development with SEPALI Artisans

You may have heard about the design workshop recently completed in Madagascar. We have admittedly been bragging about its smashing success for more than a month now. What you haven't heard about is the impact that it is already having on our program.

To catch you up, Docey Lewis, an international design and business consultant visited our team in Madagascar along with CPALI director, Catherine Craig. Together they spearheaded a training workshop that invigorated the team and added new designs, skills and techniques to our previous repertoire.

Among other things, the workshop introduced a line of textile dyes and techniques. The results are stunning. The dyes embellished the silks in ways that we never thought possible, transforming our previous products into a whole new set of possibilities. Pictures of the product development that took place can be found below.

The workshop also introduced raffia as supplemental product to the silk. Raffia is made from a native palm in Madagascar and is locally grown and processed. It is inexpensive and highly coveted by design companies around the world. The SEPALI team is already hard at work recruiting local raffia producers and weavers to build a supply chain. Raffia farming is attracting new farmers in the Makira region where we work and hopefully will expand the project impact and farmer participation.

The new dyed silks are attracting the attention of the international community. Color by Amber, a Canadian jewelry company. They have already placed large orders of dyed silks and raffia. SEPALI's conservation through sustainable livelihoods also recently caught the eye of the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo in Florida. They are planning to raise funds on behalf of the SEPALI team over the next year through their Quarters for Conservation program.

Many exciting developments! Wish us luck, send us your commnets and suggestions, check out our new products and most importantly, thank you for your ongoing support of our project! We couldn't do it without you!

All the best,

CPALI/SEPALI team

Sewing dyed textile with Mario

Banded dyeing techniques on wild silk

Shibori dyes on raffia textile

Shades of blues on silk and raffia

Colored product tags

Links:

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Feb 17, 2016
Plane Tickets and bright colors!

By Catherine Craig | CPALI Director

Artisans Learn a New Pillow Product

The tickets are purchased and the creative wheels are turning!

It's a new year at SEPALI Madagscar's Artisan Training Center and we are starting out strong by designing new products that we hope to sell at the New York Gift Show this August. Docey Lewis, international design consultant and CPALI advisor, will be traveling to Madagascar in March to hold an advanced design workshop. The intensive, 10-day workshop will train senior staff and senior artisans in new dyeing techniques, processing skills and new product design. We won't tell you what they are yet, but they represent new directions for the team, the women and our marketing approach. Creativity is on the front burner!

A glance back and a look forward

We would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who supported this project. Together, we raised over $8,000 on Global Giving for artisan training and it goes a long way in Madagascar. This past year, we doubled the number of workshops held from the year before, we were able to support our artisans though inflation in Madagascar, we invested in natural dyes, developed new products and increased the skills of our artisans.This year, we hope that Docey Lewis, with her extensive experience in developing products and markets with rural artisan groups, can help us get to the next level!

While the team is gathering supplies and preparing for the workshop, they also have their eyes on the future of textile production. In January, the team purchased five manual sewing machines that will be transported to village work centers. While the artisans will still travel to SEPALI House for training, they will be able to work at home on textile production where it is more convenient and can be worked into their daily schedule. That, of course, translates into more revenue returns for the community and increased access to the project for rural farmers. The artisans and SEPALI team produced 490 square meters of textile in 2015 - a record production! With women able to work at home in the future, we hope that production will exceed this amount. Anything you can do to help us reach our goals this year would be greatly appreciated!

Docey Lewis, Design Consultant

Silk Collage by Docey Lewis

Four of the Senior Artisans

Natural Dyes

Links:

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