Township Patterns

Factory of fair trade bags / Visit during the South Africa trip (february 2008)

NGO founded by Nicole-Marie Iresch in the shanty towns of Cape Town. When she arrived in South Africa in the second half of the 1980s, this young Parisienne was struck by one thing.  “Usually, people come up and ask you for money. Here it was work.” She asked what these women wanted to do. “Sew.” Starting from there, the Frenchwoman put together a business model based on a new form of fair trade. Located in the ghettos of Khayelitsha and Manenberg, Township Patterns makes hessian bags (they are biodegradable). For a €250/month salary, some 50 women reinterpret the use of bags in South African culture — Nicole-Marie Iresch was impressed by the creativity of the paint workshops in Khayelitsha. Another “goal is to develop ecological awareness to encourage the public to reduce their use of plastic bags” according to the NGO’s Web site.  After her visit, Carla Bruni took home a bag with her image on it.