Manenona
︎ afd.fr
Farinifera raffia fiber, natural dyeing plants & recycled denim
Ambatofotsy Artisans Coopérative
Tsimöka Cluster
In collaboration with Tsimöka Cluster &
The French Agency of development (AFD),
Anbatofotsy – MA
Farinifera raffia fiber, natural dyeing plants & recycled denim
Ambatofotsy Artisans Coopérative
Tsimöka Cluster
In collaboration with Tsimöka Cluster &
The French Agency of development (AFD),
Anbatofotsy – MA
The Raffia is a palm tree that can be found in marshy environments or river banks. Its stem dies after fruiting, but the roots remain and grow new trees. The Raffia Farinifera is a Raffia specie from Madagascar whose leaf fibers are covered with a fiber that can reach 25 m by 4 m, the longest in the kingdom of plants. This textile fiber is very strong and easy to dye.
It is braided and used in the ancestral weaving art of local fabrics. During my residency at Tsimöka, several textile research were conducted around this fiber. Craftsmen from Antananarivo and from Ambatofotsy were developing different production scenarios. The fiber was worked in “chevron”, quilted, finely woven and crocheted as part of a new Tsimöka textile collection.
