SLOW MADE in Africa… Revisiting Indego Africa
SLOW MADE INDEGO AFRICA with artisan partners
Destinations Rwanda and Ghana (INDEGO AFRICA is based in New York, USA)
Interview with Sapna Shah (Director of Brand and Operating Strategy, INDEGO AFRICA)
Photography by Brittany Barb Photography (Lifestyle images) & Anna Watts Photography (product images)
Indego’s artisan partners show off their finished products at Imirasire Cooperative in Rwanda.
HOW, WHEN AND WHY DID THE INDEGO AFRICA VISION BEGIN?
Since 2007, Indego Africa has been propelling the creation, growth, and sustainability of women-owned businesses in Africa by providing artisans with a global market for their handmade products and investing in their education.
What began as a model to empower artisan women in post-genocide Rwanda has grown into an unwavering commitment to help artisans, unemployed youth and refugees across Rwanda and Ghana participate in the artisan economy.
As a not-for-profit, we invest donations plus profits from product sales into the business, vocational and leadership training for two generations of women who handcraft our products.
IT MUST BE AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE TO BE COLLABORATING WITH THESE COLOURFUL AFRICAN COMMUNITIES ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS. WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF PARTNERING WITH THE ARTISAN WOMEN OF GHANA AND RWANDA?
Fostering a collaborative partnership with our artisan partners has been really rewarding. Whether working together in person or communicating virtually, Indego Africa has a culture where everyone’s voice is heard. Engagement and feedback from the artisans is truly valued. I’m constantly inspired by how much dedication and passion for craft our partners have. Their resilience to continue working through business challenges that arise, and the pride they share during their cooperatives’ successes makes our mission even more tangible.
WITH ALL THAT CONTINUES TO RAVAGE THE WORLD THIS YEAR, HOW ARE YOUR ARTISAN FAMILIES DOING? HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH THEM DURING THE PANDEMIC? WHO DO THEY TURN TO FOR SUPPORT DURING DIFFICULT TIMES?
As an organization committed to deep engagement in the communities we work in, our local teams in Rwanda and Ghana kept in touch with our artisan partners throughout the lockdown to help address the effects the pandemic is having on their lives. Rwanda went into lock-down for 6 weeks, and Ghana for 4 weeks. The economic fallout from the pandemic was truly global, and this time of uncertainty has taken a financial and emotional toll on our artisan partners. With 75% of our artisan partners being the primary earner of their family, a pause in income is not sustainable for their family’s basic needs.
To address this period of continued global economic uncertainty, Indego sent out a call to action to donors to form an Artisan Livelihood Protection fund to provide steady income for 1,000+ artisans and their families through steady product purchases from July – December 2020, bearing the commercial risk and building inventory. As government lock-down restrictions eased in May, 83% of the women were able to travel to their cooperatives to begin working on Indego Africa purchase orders. By June, following social distancing procedures, all the artisans were back at work.
HOW DOES IA WORK WITH THE ARTISANS? WHERE DOES THE CREATIVE INSPIRATION BEGIN?
There is such a rich history of craft that has existed for generations within the communities we partner with in Rwanda and Ghana. Part of Indego Africa’s mission is to preserve the integrity of these crafts and collaborate with the artisan women in creating beautiful, modern pieces that connect with a global market. From developing new shapes and patterns for our woven baskets, accessories, and home décor collections, the design and development process is a true partnership, where we learn from each other on what is possible and what would work best within our expanding collections.
Both Rwanda and Ghana are immensely inspirational in their landscapes, lush natural colors, bustling street markets and vast agricultural fields. It’s impossible to not find an array of ideas for patterns, textures and colors amongst these scenes and landscapes. We strive for authentic storytelling through our product and programming and connect the customer with the artisans who make these unique, handcrafted pieces. Our Indego teams on the ground in Rwanda and Ghana play an integral role and are the ones communicating and traveling throughout each week with all of the artisan cooperatives. They keep the production moving and it is an incredible process to witness as there is a lot behind the scenes that goes into each Indego Africa product.
SHARE AN INSPIRATIONAL MOMENT?
A truly inspirational moment occurred this week – five artisan women from two cooperatives we partner with at Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda applied and were accepted to repatriate back to Burundi through UNHCR and the governments of Rwanda and Burundi. These women have been at Mahama Refugee Camp for five years and are part of the inaugural group of 558 Burundians who are repatriating.
Since 2016, Indego has been training and working with Burundian refugees at Mahama to improve their livelihoods and build long-term and transferable careers in the global artisan industry. It is beautiful to see how impactful our work with the artisan cooperatives in Refugee Camps .The five who are repatriating have all expressed their desire to carry forward their weaving and entrepreneurship skills back to their home country of Burundi. One of the five women, Jacqueline, stated, “Weaving is the key in my life when I will go back to Burundi because there are no people who are weavers like us where I will be living. Hence it will be the key skill to sell and teach the rest of my community in terms of making money.”
WHAT IS A FAVOURITE PLACE TO TRAVEL TO AND WHY?
The first time I visited Rwanda, I was in awe of the country’s rich landscapes and the endless lush green farms spread across the many rolling hills. You immediately understand why the country is called the Land of a Thousand Hills. Visiting countries in Africa immediately draws you in, not only because of the beautiful, unique landscapes, but the diverse cultures and humbleness and heart of so many people you meet, and Rwanda is no exception. It is a country that has proven its resilience and strength in rebuilding communities post-genocide. The Rwandan people are kind, full of hope and vibrant and share a drive and enthusiasm to collaborate and create. I look forward to visiting again when possible and working alongside our team and artisan partners.
ALREADY REMOTE BY LOCATION AND NOW WITHOUT TYPICAL TRADE AND TOURISM, WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST VALUABLE WISDOM THAT IA HAS NOTICED, THAT IS HELPING KEEP ARTISAN MORALE AND POSITIVE COMMUNITY SPIRITS GOING STRONG?
The global pandemic has really amplified the fact that community based, women-owned artisan cooperatives play such an important role across Rwanda and Ghana in not only generating employment and reducing intergenerational poverty, but improving emotional quality of life. Our artisan partners have expressed to us that just being able to gather in small numbers again, within their cooperative, has lifted their spirits and increased their joy.
2020 IS UNLIKELY TO BE FORGOTTEN IN A HURRY. WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNT AND HOW CAN THE WORLD COLLECTIVELY HELP TRADITIONAL CULTURES AND ARTISAN COMMUNITIES SURVIVE INTO THE FUTURE?
At Indego, our ethos has always been grounded in caring about the lives of others through leadership, action and collaboration. It is important for us all to remain open to sharing our resources in order to help other individuals and organizations move through difficult times. Living through a global pandemic has truly reinforced this sentiment.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
Indego Africa is a global team that truly prides itself on maintaining a collaborative culture and a connected relationship with the artisans we work with. Our artisan partners share our passion for education, design, and the future of their country, and it’s a common bond that connects us as partners.
Our wonderful local teams in Rwanda and Ghana oversee and implement Indego’s direct social impact programs and production logistics, so they are with the artisans, day-to-day, sitting down with these women and discussing their lives, their goals, and their insights into our work and our partnership. Many of our programs and educational initiatives, including the Artisan Livelihood Protection Fund, were started because of feedback from our partners. We are deeply invested in these communities, and it is so important to us to make sure the opportunities and support we are providing are relevant to and helpful in their lives.