How it's done

Here is a little photo journey through the processes of batiking. Chantale and the other women will spend multiple days just dyeing the cloth to prepare it to be sewn into bags and clothes. Most of the tools they use are quite primitive since there is a lack of advanced technology. This lack, in turn helps preserve the handcrafted quality of a tradition that has been passed down through generations.
Chantale has learned these techniques through an apprenticage (as many artisans here follow). Now, she has taught the women who assist her the same skills. It is her hope that she can move the production to a more proper location by constructing and opening a shop in her town. Since she works from home, she has little space to make a large production. This also presents difficulties in tending to the wandering hands of the small children, to prevent them from harming themselves. She has prepared a budget for the work of building a shop and boutique, and hopes to find sources for funding along the way. Her dream is to have a place to employ other villagers as well as orphans, teaching them skills to aid in their support.

She is also in the process of creating goods to debut at the Salon International de l'artisanat de Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso this November. This will be the first time she will have opened her product out to international buyers. She still has a long way to go in creating a name for herself and the other women who work alongside her, but she has the guts and drive to make it happen.

So here's how it's done .....in Togo

well at least for now...here's a snapshot...full slideshow to come later...

Powdered dyes are hand mixed to create bright and beautiful colors

Wax and hot water is heated over wood and coal cookstoves to be used in the process.

Chemical reactives are added to make the color fix to the cotton. Some are also used to create a variety of color tones.

The cloth is then stamped with wax using a wooden or foam stamp to preserve the underlaying color. A single cloth can go through numerous color baths, using wax to save each color in the layer.

The cloth is then laid on the ground to dry between colorings.

Some prints are entirely coated in wax to then be dunked in a reactive color that will give the tissue a marbelized look as the colors mix between the cracked wax.

Once the color is set, the fabric is then dunked in a hot bath with a solvent that will help release the wax from the tissue.

After the bath, the cloth is shaken and snapped to remove any leftover wax and then hung on the line to dry in the hot African sun.

Once the fabric is dyed, dried and pressed it is then sewn using a foot-pedal machine into bags, clothes and accessories. All stages of the process are hand controlled and time intensive.