Monday we started off doing a batiking workshop at the workplace of mama Martha. She talked us through the batiking process and helped us understand it more. We started off choosing the stamps we wanted to use for our patterns, while the wax was being heated. The mamas showed us how to dip the stamps in the wax and shake it off without getting the hot wax on yourself or somebody else. This was more difficult than it looks! When the patterns were finished it was time to choose a colour to dye the fabric with. After dyeing the fabric is hung outside to dry and we could see the colour changing from dark brown in the wet situation to orange in the dried situation. It looked amazing!

After the workshop Anna Rose and Patience, from Global Mamas, met us and took us to Cape Coast. Here we visited several other mamas at their businesses. In total we visited 3 seemstresses and 3 batiking workplaces. This gave us a good impression of how the mamas worked and what kind of space they need. We asked them questions on what they would like to change about their workplace, what they would like to improve or what could make their workplace a more comfortable place to work in. Most of the women had never really thought about it before. They are used to their place as it is and they like it.

After meeting the mamas we went to the Global Mamas office in Cape Coast. The office in Cape Coast is different from the one in Ashaiman. In Cape Coast the mamas have their own businesses and consider Global Mamas as one of their customers, whereas in Ashaiman there is one main building, which employs 24 people, where the whole process takes place under one roof. Patience showed us around at the office and walked us through the process. To make it more visual they picked a finished product from the shelf and moved it through the different stages of the quality control. This way it became clear how much is happening in such a small room.

Lisanne

We’ve had a great first week getting to grips with the brief, researching, and brainstorming ideas. We took a trip to Ashaiman, just outside Accra, where Global Mamas has a production facility that's in a converted house and not really fit for purpose. The aim of the visit was to meet some of the staff and find out more about their garment making process and the spaces they need. Amos, one of the managers, walked us through the process of batik making – where plain fabric is dyed, stamped with wax patterns, dyed again, and maybe stamped and dyed again, to produce beautiful coloured patterned fabric. The dyed fabric is hung out to dry under the sun and blows around in the wind.

Dorcas, the other manager, then showed us around the sewing areas, where batiked fabric is ironed, cut, and sewn into garments. Global Mamas has taken great care in the sewing room to arrange the machines so that none of the seamstresses have their backs to each other, and it is a cool, pleasant place to work. The women listen to music and chat while they work, and it is important that we maintain this friendly informal atmosphere in the new fair trade zone.

It was very exciting to see the fabric and clothes being made. However, it was also clear that Global Mamas could do with more space, and a building that is designed around their very specific needs, especially when it comes to batiking, which requires hot wax, lots of water, gas, and both semi-outdoor and outdoor spaces.

We spent the rest of the week sketching and mapping the production processes, as well as identifying challenges and opportunities for the new design. We researched the current worrying status quo of the garment industry around the world as a contrast to the new place of production we are going to create. We started collecting images of buildings and projects which have inspired us with their use of materials and/or technologies and have related these to our own design aims. It’s going to be a challenging, but very interesting project, and we’re excited to move to the next stage.

Emily