Written by Saara Kanula (Finland)
Edited by Lynne Hambury (South Africa) (Originally published on Apr 24, 2014)
Emilie Bendix Hansen is a 22-year-old girl from Copenhagen, Denmark. She has been dreaming of coming to Africa for many years. Last January, she finally made her dream come true when she came to volunteer at Art in Tanzania (AIT).
As a volunteer, Emilie has been teaching English in a nursery school in the mornings and Adult English in the afternoons—this is a typical type of volunteer project in AIT. Depending on one’s education, background, and interests, one can participate in many other projects made available by AIT. In Emilie’s case, besides teaching, she found a project where she could use her professional skills as a fashion designer.
Emilie graduated from Teko Design and Business School last December and has been designing women’s clothing for Lolly’s Laundry in Denmark. While volunteering, Emilie designed clothes for Art in Tanzania. These items will then be produced by the Getting Older is to Grow (GOIG) Society – a certified Fair Trade producer of unique and sustainable handcrafted products. A non-profit organization founded in 1991, GOIG’s mission is to enable disadvantaged children in Tanzania to reach their full potential through receiving a quality education relevant to their needs. At GOIG the youth is trained to produce quality traditional handcraft products for internal and external market access.
From its start-up in 1994 through 2005, GOIG received significant financial and technical assistance from the Finnish Handcrafts Society and FINNIDA. Now, GOIG is collaborating with AIT and producing items for their Fair Trade shop in Dar es Salaam and online shop in Finland.
I had a chance to meet Emilie and ask her a few questions about her design work at GOIG.
How did the idea arise to design clothes for Art in Tanzania?
The idea came about during a conversation with a team leader at AIT. After discovering that I was a fashion designer, the team leader told me about GOIG and suggested working with them to produce a clothing line. I took some time off from my teaching projects and started designing women’s clothing with GOIG.
The GOIG Society is a charming organization; the people are very friendly. A few workers speak English, so communication was a bit difficult. Luckily, I had a Tanzanian co-worker, Jessica, fluent in English. At first, she was a little shy, but when I got to know her, I liked her and enjoyed working with her. We designed the collection together.
GOIG is located in Dar es Salaam, about half an hour’s drive from the Bahari Beach volunteer house. The GOIG building is quite modest compared to any of Denmark’s buildings. Working spaces are simple, and equipment is quite rudimentary—workers sew with very old sewing machines.
How does the work differ from a designer’s work in Denmark?
In Denmark, students learn how to design clothes, and most of the production is done in Asia. At GOIG, the teaching concentrates on teaching women to sew, so all the designed items are made here. The process of making clothes is different, too. I was surprised to see that the workers cut the fabric without a pattern to guide them. Sometimes the outcome works well, however there are many mistakes made and fabric is wasted. Workers have graduated from the GOIG vocational school; some are very talented. I was amazed when I saw Jessica making clothes from bed sheets! She didn’t cut the fabric or use any needle or string. All she did was place a few pins where needed, and after five minutes, she found a gorgeous dress! She is able to make many different styles of dresses like that. This is something I would love to learn. One of the great things about this project is that I did not have strict guidelines to follow and was able to be highly creative with the collection.
From where did the inspiration for the collection come?
The collection, which includes twelve different design pieces, nine for women and three for children, was designed for Finnish markets. The Women’s collection has casual, beach and party outfits. We had some instructions about what types of clothes were in demand, but otherwise, we could have worked very independently and been creative. Marjut Valtanen, a team leader at AIT who coordinated the Fair Trade projects, gave us some insight on what would be “IN” next summer in Finland, and that guided the designs. After designing the clothes, Jessica and I chose the fabric we wanted. We tried to use the best Tanzanian materials, so we decided on some ketenge, kanga and batik. The variety of the colours in local markets was terrific. We tried to use the colours that would be suitable for Finland. In Tanzania, women use lots of bright colours. Finnish people are more moderate in this respect, so we tried to keep that in mind. At this point, the staff will make samples of the designs. I haven’t seen them yet, but I am excited to see the outcome. Our plan is for the collection to appear in the market next summer.
How would you describe your experience volunteering at Art in Tanzania?
I had a great time. There were many opportunities to see and do many different things. I’ve experienced the school system, done some designing work, planted trees in the Moshi area, been on a safari, swimming at the beaches in Zanzibar, taught kids how to swim and even attained a diving licence. Working here is so different from working in Denmark – it is a challenging environment but rewarding. Because things happen at a slower pace, I have learnt some patience. One needs to be laid back; things will happen when everyone is ready. Akuna Matata!
Do you think that volunteers can make a change in Tanzania?
Yes, one makes a change by doing little things. For example, when teaching in nursery schools, the kids are thrilled by learning new songs and playing different games. Some of the teachers have also adopted new teaching methods from the volunteers. This is a really good thing – some old-fashioned methods practised before have been replaced with new alternative approaches that have increased effectiveness. The most rewarding thing for me has been teaching Adult English. Students are very eager to learn, and they are so grateful to get these lessons for free and they appreciate it. Another great moment was when I taught children to swim and helped one little girl to conquer her fear of water.
What would you say to people who are planning to come to work as volunteers in Tanzania? One cannot really prepare for anything one will face here. The best advice is to be open-minded. It is definitely a worthwhile experience not to be missed!
For more information about the GOIG Societ go to www.goigsociety.org
English 
Finnish 
Italian 
Polish 
French