THE MAKING

  • Mino, Fanja et Bodo | Soasoo worksop

It’s no quick process creating the fabric our products are made from.
It’s an intricate labour of love hand-woven from tradition, pride, and the incredible artistry of the remote villagers who make it happen.
My philosophy is to combine the knowledge and experience of these craftswomen with traditional production skills, assuring permanent quality.

Mada collective products are made of 100% natural raw materials sourced locally, only traditional materials are used from Madagascar such as raffia, wild silk, sisal, rabane, soga (organic cotton), and are woven entirely by hand by artisans with ancestral know-how.

S ustainable

U nique

R aw

F ibres that are woven into existence by hand, each item is unique – just like you!

SOGA 

Our home linen is woven in Soga, an organic cotton specific to Madagascar, reputed for its rough and natural side. Soga is under the name of BCI – ”Better Cotton Initiative”,

which covers all three pillars of sustainability:

Environmental, Social, and Economic.

This cotton so specific to Madagascar has been favored for its natural look and slightly crumpled texture.

When it is not in its raw state of color «Greige», it is dyed in an OEKO TEX certified workshop.

It’s an organic cotton that has character.

We feel all its texture to the touch. It softens at every wash but keeps its identity, raw and crumpled.

It is the most easily maintained in the world and does not need to be ironed.

Madagascar cotton is grown from December to February and harvested from April to July which is during the peak season.

It’s grown around Tulear in the Atsimo-Andrefana region.

For cotton to mature, it takes between 5-7 months.

Madagascar is not a developed country. Therefore, the cotton is harvested by hand means. It is slow.

But, this preserves the quality of the cotton as it is not contaminated.

People are able to pick only the cotton balls leaving out the twigs and dirt hence the cotton is quite clean.

Also, on handpicking, the farmers only pick the matured cotton balls but machines will pick out anything.

After they have been picked, the cotton is kept in bales, dry, until they can be ginned.

At the ginneries, the fiber is separated from the seeds as well as the wax coating surrounding the fiber protecting the cotton from wetness.

At this point is where the grading takes place. In cotton, the length is the most important determinant of quality.

Simple. The longer the fiber, the higher the quality of the cotton.

Soga, this organic cotton specific to Madagascar is high quality.

THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS IN SOASOO WORKSHOP

  • Reception of raw fabric in a roll. It is greige in color consisting of small black “chips”, characteristics of the soga
  • The first stage of transformation by cutting the fabric into panels for the preparation of the color.
  • Handyeing the fabric
  • Making and assembling

Let each piece relax itself for a slightly crumpled effect, no need to iron.
Machine washable at 40 ° C

Just like love, cotton is all around. It’s a natural product, it can be recycled, it can be made up into all sorts of different fabrics and when discarded, it’s speedily biodegradable.

We have used cotton for clothing for at least 7000 years, which is not surprising when you consider that it keeps you cool in summer & warm in winter.

FLAT WEAVING

It is a weaving technique performed on a loom. It consists of two thread that intertwines perpendicularly. There are the warp threads, vertical threads that are attached to the craft beforehand. The craftsman intertwines the horizontal threads, called weft threads, to the warp threads. The threads intertwine according to the desired pattern.

It is a job that takes time to achieve a perfect finish of the product, made entirely by hand.

Using age-old methods and skills that have been passed down through generations, artisans handloom beautiful textures and patterns.

WEAVING WORKSHOP
Weaving is an integral part of the Malagasy craft industry.
It endures in time through strong symbols to which the Malagasy are proudly attached.
We revisit traditional weaving through contemporary creations, such as rugs, bed throws, cushion covers.

The weaving workshop is located in the commune of Ambatomanga, in a rural area at about 2hrs drive from the Capital, Antananarivo.


THE LOOM

The wooden looms are assembled by the village carpentry workshop. All the pieces are
carefully turned in the pure tradition.

Their width is 1,30m for the big looms, 1,00m for the small looms.
The looms are horizontal. The pedals activate the weft and warp mechanism.
The wheels stretch the weft threads to accommodate the warp threads.
The comb manually brings the warp threads together to create the pattern of the piece.
The warp threads are placed in the heddles.

WILD SILK

The silk is endemic to Madagascar, silkworms are harvested in Tapia forests.

The Tapia forest is the only natural forest which exists in Madagascar’s highlands. It is home to great wealth, including the production of wild silk cocoons, medicinal plants, plants used for dyes as well as orchids. 

Wild Silk is completely unique to the world. The species of silkworms grown are native to this particular northeast region of Madagascar.

The yarns are extracted by a technique perfectly mastered by artisans.
The yarns are then woven by hand on traditional looms.
The production process, from the farming to weaving, is sustainable. The silk cocoons, produced by native species of silkworms, are hand-reared by Malagasy farmers and sewn together by farmer-artisans into unique, non-spun textiles.

Two types of silks exist in Madagascar: one is made from breeding silkworms and the other by Borocera Madagascariensis, silkworm living in the wild tree tapia. But, it is endemic to Madagascar.

The silk worm Borocera Madagascariensis are holometabolous, therefore they have three distinct morphological stages; larva, pupa and adult. After hatching from the egg, larvae go through four molts as they grow. During each molt, the old skin is cast off and a new, larger one is produced.

The silk worm larval life is divided into five instars, separated by four molts. After they have molted four times their bodies turn slightly yellow and their skin becomes tighter. The larvae enclose themselves in a cocoon of raw silk produced in the salivary glands that provides protection during the vulnerable, almost motionless pupal state.

The cocoon is made of a thread of raw silk from 300 to about 900 meters long. The fibers are very fine and lustrous, about 10 micrometres in diameter. About 2,000 to 3,000 cocoons are required to make a pound of silk. Based on 1 kilometer per cocoon, ten unraveled cocoons could theoretically extend vertically to the height of Mount Everest.

The silkworm cocoons are boiled. The heat kills the silkworms, and the water makes the cocoons easier to unravel. The silkworm itself is sold at market to be eaten. The cocoons then are compacted into balls and allowed to dry in the sun for four days. They are then beaten to make them soft and then washed again with soap. The silk is boiled dyed again with natural additives as dyes to develop the colours: Eucalyptus mixed with soil makes the colour black. Passion Flower makes the colour green 1 kilo of cocoons makes one large or two medium sized scarves. It takes one day to weave one scarf.

The sale of silk scarves supports both the conservation of the native woodlands and the traditional handicraft of these scarves, as well as providing a sustainable source of income for the women who make them. The wild silks are hand spun and dyed with natural dyes. Each scarf is different, with the subtle variations in colour and weave inherent with any handcrafted product, and each is beautiful.

The silk is firm, resilient, lustrous and porous, allowing light to dance around it and through it.

It is UV-resistant, hand-washable and color-fast.

Essentially, Wild Silk is a product you can feel good about from start to finish. It’s good for the environment, it builds a pathway out of poverty for farmers and artisans, and it supports rainforest conservation.
Wild silk is shimmering, sophisticated and sustainable.

VETIVER

Vetiver grass is a tropical plant used in Madagascar to protect ponds and rice paddy field banks and bunds

The word vetiver means “root that is dug up.”

Vetiver plants play an important role in land stabilization and the prevention of erosion in Madagascar.

Vetiver is an excellent pioneer plant on disturbed land. It improves the micro environment so local and native species of trees and shrubs can establish themselves later.
Today it is sought after for its oil which is widely used by perfumers and in aromatherapy. Vetiver oil possesses antiseptic properties and is thought to alleviate stress and anxiety. It has been used to treat muscular aches, improve circulation, relieve melancholy and nervous tension, and to ensure restful sleep.

For your enjoyment, Malgache artisans have woven, twisted, and turned this useful grass into unique baskets and decorative accessories. Your support will help the artisans make a living from vetiver – a renewable natural resource.

RAFFIA

Raffia is a natural wonder!
A natural fiber. The fiber itself is created from the underside of the front leaf of the ‘Raffia’ Palm.

Raffia, a word of Malagasy origin, refers to the palm tree and the fiber extracted from the plant. The palm is among the endemic species in Madagascar and the most useful by its fibers and its fruits.

The raffia is a large palm tree 15 to 20 m high that grows along streams, or in swampy areas. This plant has long, pinnate leaves 6 to 12 m long that include the rigid and thick rachis and the segment, which forms the pendulous parts of the plant. Pretty impressive for a palm tree stem!

Besalampy is the capital, an urban city located in the west of Madagascar, in the region of Melaky, in the province of Majunga. Its natural stands extend into the northwestern region of Madagascar even if for various reasons: the progress of the culture, the manufacture of palm wine, we find raffia plantations in the eastern region and also in the western slope .

The light and resistant spines are used for the construction of huts, or furniture and light chairs since the time of colonization around 1897.

As for the segments, young and in whole, they are used for the manufacture of mats and soubiques. The segments of the spine are separated using a knife in a process very specific to Betsimisaraka or Sakalava, to extract the fiber.

The colorful raffia that we all know actually starts life pale green in color, but soon after harvest, dries out and turns beige in color.

To weave raffia, it takes really skilled hands and tremendous patience. The technique is crochet, and the difficulty resides in the regularity of the stitches. The hands that make a bag will be the same until that bag is built (some of our pieces can take up to 3 to 4 days to give you a rough idea). That’s how hard the job is.

The Raffia process is one that is time-consuming, though the local expertise and knowledge ensure only the finest Raffia is exported from the Island of Madagascar.

This resource is sustainable as strict laws limit the harvest period of Raffia, ensuring that it can only be harvested from June to October each year. This ensures that the plant can re-grow to its full strength prior to it undertaking any damage. Under these ideal tropical growing conditions, the plants grow at an extensive rate, though the local populace treats the tree with the utmost respect as it is a major contributor to their economy.

 

ANTEMORO PAPER

Antemoro papermaking in Madagascar is part of a real tradition.

The ethnic group lives in southeast Madagascar.

The first step is to collect the best fibers from the bark of the Avoha tree.

The next step is to boil these fibers for 4 hours.

The fibres are then rinsed and selected. And the operation continues by crushing the fibers chosen by a mallet in order to obtain a paste.

Crushing boiled fibers

This coarse brown paste is put into balls of about 400 g (women evaluate them thanks to their habit)

The next stage of preparation is of great importance because its success depends on the final shape of the paper. The paste is mixed with water to make it more liquid, and the resulting mixture will be spread out on a cotton cloth stretched by a wooden frame. The difficulty and importance of this step is due to the fact that it is necessary to determine the amount to be dumped in the frame and to surface it well so that the antemoro paper has a uniform thickness.
The next step is the decoration of antemoro paper. It can be decorated with petals and flower stems before it dries completely, so these decorations will be permanently anchored in the paper. It is the decorator who often does according to her mood and the flowers she picked that morning. She “lays” her flowers
then adds a very light layer of dough by hand.

The drying time obviously depends on the weather conditions. But with sunny weather, this drying time will be greatly reduced.

It is still today handmade, nothing is done fast or without experience. This is how the knowledge of paper production and processing is still passed on from generation to generation.

With Soasoo, our commitment is to have an ethical and responsible business, in order to ensure this responsible conduct, we work passionately according to fair trade principles.
Even though Madagascar is a country great in beauty and natural resources, its people live in extreme poverty in rural areas. The women who live in these remote villages, however, possess an amazing skill handed down from their ancestors. With no electricity or running water they are still able to produce a product that is extraordinarily beautiful and of amazing quality.
Malagasy women are poor and rely on income generating craft related activities to support their families.
Unfortunately, these incredible weavers have no market for their goods. It is for this reason that I am so passionate to go deep into this amazing project ‘Mada Collective’ to give these women hope for their future and that of their families.
Promoting sustainable and environmental-friendly practices is important to preserve the unique habitat of Madagascar while providing durable economic opportunities to the local communities.

From trimming loose fibres and threads to double-checking stitching, we ensure quality throughout production, whilst still preserving the little flourishes that make our products distinctly handmade.

Come to discover Mada collective in collaboration with Soasoo! You will find our beautiful hand-made products in vegetable fibers…