This week, we’ve got video from our live FEEDBACK FRIDAY featuring Aboubakar Fofana. We got to take a walk through Aboubakar’s art and life’s work through a visually stunning slideshow as well as a mini-film featuring his farm in Mali, West Africa. We’ve never had more emails thanking us for giving access to such an inspiring human, and presentation as well as how honored they felt to be part. Thank you again Aboubakar.
WATCH THE RECORDING HERE:
Below is the introduction from today we didn’t have in the recording (because we almost forgot to record!)
Many have asked how to donate to Aboubakar’s farm. We’ve created a space for donations to Aboubakar to support his indigo farm in Mali, West Africa. Because of the Coronavirus, he has lost all income from cancelled workshops, paid talks and collaborations. Can you help us give back to him for all that he’s given to us as an indigo educator, artist and farmer?
If you don’t know Aboubakar Fofana, he is a multidisciplinary artist and designer whose working mediums include calligraphy, textiles and natural dyes. He is known for his work in reinvigorating and redefining West African indigo dyeing techniques, and much of his focus is devoted to the preservation and reinterpretation of traditional West African textile and natural dyeing techniques and materials.
He is currently deeply involved in creating a farm in conjunction with the local community in the district of Siby, Mali, in which the two types of indigenous West African indigo (Indigofera Arrecta and Philenoptera Cyanescens) will be the centerpiece for a permaculture model based around local food, medicine and dye plants. This project hopes to contribute to the rebirth of fermented indigo dyeing in Mali and beyond, and represents his life’s greatest project to date.
ABOUT FEEDBACK FRIDAY
If you are not familiar with FEEDBACK FRIDAY, every week, we are emailed with questions from our natural dye community. Weekly, all of your questions are answered by Kathy Hattori, Founder of Botanical Colors. Both Kathy and Amy DuFault, Botanical Colors’ Sustainability and Social Media Director will be on hand to moderate and answer questions.