The Sahel has become synonymous with bad news lately – Islamist militants, kidnappings, drought. It is now too dangerous for us to visit our beloved reinsmakers there. With your support we will continue across cultures and continents to work and dream for a better future. Here’s a short video that shows how we are…
Tag: Burkina Faso
Indigo Blues
Things didn’t go to plan on my last visit to Burkina Faso, where I’d intended to document the ancient technique of indigo dyeing. I found out that to follow the whole process I would need to spend several days, if not weeks, in a remote village where the dyeing takes place in pits dug…
The Reversible leather & bogolan shopper
‘It’s more important to be pretty on the inside’ is what we keep telling our 5 year old daughter. As for bags, it’s just as important, which is why we use hand-woven mudcloth dyed cotton to line many of our styles. But it felt a shame to keep the beautiful bogolan hidden away, so we’ve…
Community Development with SAHEL Design
SAHEL Design is about people and products. We make beautiful, unique accessories that can’t be found elsewhere. Then we sell them and reinvest the profits into the communities that made them. We don’t accept charity or ‘pity purchases’ and we don’t want to impose our own ideas on how these communities should develop. They, not…
Designing a messenger bag for eHaberdasher
Designing bags isn’t all about pinterest and doodling (although they both play a part). Our men’s messenger bag was the result of a collaboration between SAHEL Design in Burkina Faso and eHaberdasher in London. Getting the right shape, size and details took four months and five prototypes to get right. We’re pleased to say that…
Making West African Bogolan (mudcloth)
Legend has it that a woman was washing her husband’s clothes when she accidentally dropped them in mud. They were stained brown and the technique of mud cloth dyeing was born. It was later discovered that fermented mud reacts with tannin and produces black. White is formed by bleaching away the colour. The legend of…
How to build a Fulani style straw hut
Summer is upon us and most Europeans dream of hazy days spent enjoying the sunshine, and maybe – for the more adventurous, nights spent out under the stars too. Glamping, Mongolian yurts and wigwams make the idea of camping more appealing to the aesthetically minded. And as a seasonal garden installation to captivate the kids,…
Weaving hopes and dreams
Early next year I’ll be returning to Burkina Faso where I’m excited about researching more into traditional crafts. We’ve been in the UK for a few months to have a baby and have left our Fulani friends in the Sahel with orders for leather bag straps and hand-woven cotton cushions and blankets. A phone call…
Bag profits help bring medical check-ups for village children
This week the Gakou family, who make the reins used in SAHEL bags received a visit from the Paam Laafi medical team. Partly funded by profits from bag sales, the purpose of the visit was to give the children of the village a free medical check up and medication if necessary. The nearest town is…
Making a set of tassled horse reins
Tassles are an important part of traditional Fulani reins. They are swung in the air to make the horse go faster. They are also an important part of some of our SAHEL bags. This article explains how the tassles are made. […]