Luxury Indian Ocean LUXURY INDIAN OCEAN #7 EDITION 2018 | Página 90

BUSINESS
These creative companies are often textile-focused and affiliated to
NGOs. “When I take part in trade fairs, the people I meet associate
Madagascar’s craftsmanship with exceptional quality and ethical
practices,” says Shirley Dalais of Karina International, a Mauritian
company specialising in the manufacture of children’s clothing and
ladieswear, operating in Madagascar since 1999. Karina has a canteen
which feeds all her employees for lunch, a breastfeeding room so that
working mothers can take care of their children, an in-house doctor
which provides free medicine. Safe spaces aside, Shirley also wanted
to give Malagasy culture pride of place in her childrenswear label, Tia
& Aïna (‘love life’ in Malagasy). Each piece exhibits local savoir-faire
in its intricate embroidery patterns and fabric, and every collection
comes with a tale, which follows the adventures of Tia and Aïna as
they travel around Madagascar. brilliant example of Malagasy excellence, like so many of her fellow
artisans.
A simple internet search yields countless, verified success stories. Tsara,
for instance, is a creative project set up in 2014 by the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization, which aims at engaging rural
women and involve them in sustainable trade. Today, Tsara employs
over a thousand women and has its own masters programme. The
kind of security afforded by international organisations such as Tsara
means that artisans are better protected against contraband; plus,
these companies often employ women from rural areas, who due to
ancestral practices are often banned from owning land. They turn their
exquisite skill in embroidery and craftsmanship into revenue, and are
thriving. Another fantastic story melding textiles, empowerment
and environmental conservation is that of SEPALI, the Madagascar
Organization of Silk Workers. The NGO partnered with the
US Conservation through the Poverty Alleviation organisation
(CPALI), and together, they help local farmers produce artisanal silk
from endemic moths. They operate in the Makira Protected Area:
the communities residing nearby were left impoverished once the
park came to existence, since they could no longer hunt in the area.
SEPALI/CPALI ensure that these communities make between $60-
$200 per head through sustainable silk farming. Locals care for the
silkworms on trees, plant trees, produce silk and eat protein-rich
chrysalids. With the growing demand for Malagasy wildsilk on the
world market, SEPALI’s future is undoubtedly bright. Then, visit and reside in different villages. A hundred kilometres
south of Antsirabe lies Ambositra and its 25,000-strong Zafimaniry
community, whose woodcrafting knowledge is inscribed on the
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. All that they touch
is ornamented, in codified geometric patterns which reflect the
community members’ roles, as well as their Austronesian and Arab
influences. The Zafimaniry use twenty different species of endemic
trees, and each bark has its exact purpose. Houses and tombs are built
entirely with traditional mortise and tenon joints, without the use of
nails or other metal fittings.
Major cities across Europe and America now hold trade fairs of local
arts and handicrafts, and Malagasy artisans have garnered particular
attention. A New York Times’ piece this year featured Marie
Alexandrine Rasoanantenaina, who enraptured visitors with her
ornate vetiver baskets and rugs in the International Folk Art Market.
Rasoanantenaina started by making underwear from the fabric scraps
of her grandmother’s table. Today, she creates rugs, mats, baskets and
totes, all fashioned from Malagasy flora, employs about thirty women
and has her own NGO dedicated to promoting local handicraft. A
90
The Ethical Traveller’s Journey
First, head to family-run businesses such as Miniature Mamy in
Antsirabe. Run by Mr. and Mrs. Rajamason, the business creates small
sculptures using recycled materials and Zebu horn. Both kinds of
handicraft are a direct product of Madagascar’s economic conditions:
recycling is crucial in the Red Island (though no industry per se exists)
because importing new materials costs a fortune; the Zebu is reared
for meat, and no part of the animal goes to waste – the horn itself is
stripped of its soft tissue, which is then used as fertilizer, feed, and
powder for traditional medicine.
In the towns of Betioky and Ampanihy you’ll find the Mahafaly
community, renowned for their tombs of coloured stones and
carved wooden posts. The Betsileo community of southern-central
Madagascar produces ornamental cloths of very finely woven raffia
and has become specialists in the production of coloured straw hats.
The Antemoro people, of Manakara and Farafangana, were the first
and, for a long time, the only community who knew how to write
texts and the first to render the Malagasy language into writing. They
produce paper from the bark of wild mulberry trees – make sure to
acquire their bookmarks, crafted from the bark and freshly pressed
flowers. Make sure to stop by Ampanihy and marvel at the villagers’
handmade mohair carpets, which count over 70,000 knots per square
metre.
During your travels you’ll probably search for a tablecloth to take home,
but remember the history and the sweat behind the pristine linen.
High-quality cotton, raffia and silk were and still are cornerstones
of Malagasy social and ethnic identity. Textiles play a crucial role in
statecraft and metaphysical belief systems: linen is offered to rulers,
ancestors and spirits in return for blessings, a physical manifestation
of ‘hasina’, the sacred force that strengthens human relationships. The
cloth in your hands has history.