Relatório final 2012 by Sofia Vilarinho

Mozambique Capulana in a D4S design perspective: identity, tradition and fashion-able challenges in the XXI century

Phd Student | Sofia Leonor Vilarinho Lucas Supervisor | Henri Christiaans, TU Delft Co-Supervisor| Maria Paula Meneses, CES, Coimbra

Design

Third report January 2012- December 2012

Theme Design for sustainability (D4S) Title Mozambique Capulana in a D4S design perspective: identity, tradition and fashion-able challenges in the XXI century Key-words Capulana, Design for Sustainability (D4S), Tradition, Identity, Fashion-able challenges

Scientific Area: Design I&D Structure: CIAUD-Centro de Investigação em Arquitectura Urbanismo e Design Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitectura –Universidade Técnica de Lisboa Fellowship: PhD fellowship number SFRH / BD / 68602 / 2010 financed by Science and Technology Foundation. 2

General Index 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………..Pag.5 2. Restructuring PhD Proposal: some decisions………………………Pag.6 3. Activities under the provisional schedule…………………………..Pag.9 4. Current Status of the research……………………………………..Pag.10 5. Research Structure ………………………………………………...Pag.10 6. Deep analysis………………………………………………………Pag.14 6.1. The context of African Fashion production: Maputo……..Pag.15 6.2 The context of African Fashion production: Lisboa………Pag.16 6.3. Applied methodology……………………………………..Pag.18 6.4. How did it work?.................................................................Pag.19 6.5. Goals……………………………………………………….Pag.21 6.6. The organization of the course…………………………….Pag.21 6.7. Operationalization…………………………………………Pag.22 6.8. Main Conclusions………………………………………….Pag.25 6.9. Other findings concerning each discipline in particular…...Pag.27 6.10.Results……………………………………………………..Pag.28 6.11. Media Coverage…………………………………………...Pag.29 7. Research Through oriented readings………………………………...Pag.30 8. Publications ………………………………………………………….Pag.33 9. Future Work………………………………………………………….Pag.34 10. Conclusions…………………………………………………………Pag.35

Index of Appendix Appendix A- Fashion Design Programme: 1st year………………………Pag.36 Appendix B – Abstracts of articles……………………………………….Pag.38 Appendix C - General characterization of the Course for Africa Tailors...Pag.40 Appendix D -Tailors ‘Drawings…………………………………………..Pag.41 Appendix E - Some photos of the course………………………………….Pag.42 3

Appendix F – Tailors structured interviews……………………………….Pag.43 Appendix G: Questionnaire about the course……………………………..Pag.45 Appendix H- The script of the interviews…………………………………Pag.47 Appendix I- Full Interview, Dr Francisco………………………………..Pag.48 Appendix J- Other activities………………………………………………Pag.50

Index of Figures Fig.1: D. Rosa, makhwua woman wearing traditional clothing……………Pag.8 from Mozambique Island: headscarf, Kimau and capulana. She is also using the m’siro mask. Photography by the author. Lisbon 2012. Fig.2: D. Juliana, makonde woman wearing a capulana. Pemba, 2011…….Pag.9 Figure 3: D. Juliana, makonde woman wearing capulana. Lisbon, 2012…..Pag.9 Fig.4: Provisional timetable for the research……………………………….Pag.9 Fig.5: Research Project Diagram…………………………………………..Pag.11 Fig 6: Research structure for this research…………………………………Pag.13 Fig.7: Tailors working in groups at Xipamanine market, Maputo. Photograph by the author, May,2011……………………………………….Pag.15 Fig.8: Diagram of the cultural knowledge transfer chains…………………Pag.25 Fig.9: Interview for the program “Rumos”- RTP Africa in 18th July http://www.rtp.pt/programa/tv/p28543/c88150…………………………….Pag.29 Fig.10: Interview for the Radio, RDP Africa, http://www.rtp.pt/rdpafrica/?t=os-Alfaiatesafricanos.rtp&article=910&visual=15&tm=17…………………………….Pag.30

Index of Maps Map 1: Based on the map produced for the project report ‘Xiculungo revisitado’ (Paulo, et al., 2011:12)……………………………………………………...Pag.14 Map 2: Map of the area under study in Lisbon, showing localizations (tailors ateliers, tailors’ homes and the school Modatex)…………………………. Pag.17

Index of Tables Table 1: diagram showing the research tasks for the year of 2013…………Pag.35 4

1. troduction

This research project has a two-fold aim: on the one hand it intends to apply, at an academic level, identity, tradition and fashion-able challenges of the African capulana fabric to the 21th century fashion. On the other hand, it seeks to contribute, in a tangible form, towards social justice through design for sustainability. The latter is seen as a vehicle for knowledge empowerment, to improve livelihood and self-representation. In the pages that follow this report seeks to describe and explain with clarity and rigor, the work done over the last 12 months. To this effect I build a structure of the document that I present below: 2. Restructuring PhD Proposal: some decisions 3. Activities under the provisional schedule 4. Current Status of the research 5. Research Structure 6. Deep analysis of research steps 6.1. The context of African Fashion production: Maputo 6.2 The context of African Fashion production: Lisbo 6.3. Applied methodology 6.4. How did it work? 6.5. Goals 6.6. The organization of the course 6.7. Operationalization 6.8. Main Conclusions 6.9. Other findings concerning each discipline in particular

6.10.Results 6.11. Media Coverage 7. Research through oriented readings 8. Publications 9. Future work 10. Conclusions

2. Restructuring PhD Proposal: some decisions It was necessary to make some changes to the proposal presented in the last report 2011 (p.13). These changes happened due to reflections and observations that occurred during the progress of this work. The initial idea was to develop capulana laboratories in Mozambique–Maputo, but it turned out that was more difficult to control the variables. Also the financing offered by FCT was not enough to pay expenses for a longer period in Maputo. Therefore, because Lisbon is a city with a vibrant Africa community, and thinking on the possibility to open a new perspective about importance of communities living in the Diaspora for the construction of identities and cultural knowledge, it was decided to develop these laboratories with the African immigrant community. The goal is to develop pilot projects that could be applied locally in Mozambique or other regions of Africa. As presented in the last report I have mapped the African immigrant tailors in Lisbon and identified a group of 8 tailors willing to participate in the first coleaning platform. During this year I also wanted to work with a second focus group, integrating Mozambican women in impoverished situation. However, in dialogue with my co-supervisor Drª Paula Meneses1 it was concluded that the Mozambican community in Lisbon is mostly literate and quite wealthy (according to her the highest immigration flux can be found either in Germany – Europe or South Africa). 1 Paula Meneses’ research work is about postcolonial debates, legal pluralism - with particular emphasis on the relations between the State and the 'traditional authorities' in the African context, and the role of official history, memory and 'other' stories in the rescue of a broader sense of belonging to the field of contemporary identity processes

Therefore, I reformulated the focus group, and I started to apply research methodologies to reach the Mozambican community in Lisbon. Several contacts were made: with immigrant associations, the Mozambique Embassy in Lisbon and cultural associations e.g Associação de Escritores Moçambicanos, Associação Portugal Moçambique, Associação de Estudantes Moçambique - Núcleo de Lisboa (AEMOP-NL), Associação Casa de Moçambique; Associação Centro Cultural Luso-Moçambicano and OMM: Organização da Mulher Moçambicana (Mozambican Woman Organization). I had high expectations in these contacts, because these associations work closely with communities and are strategically important allies to reach them. However, they were ineffective. Some of the presidents of the associations showed some interest in presenting the research preliminary results in specific events of the community, but effectively after several months nothing was realized. This process leaded to a halt in the project and low results for obtaining the second group. This "failure" was the reason for reformulation and new strategies were applied to reach the Mozambican community in Lisbon. The first strategy will establish forums for dialogue about capulana. The National Costume Museum became the official partner for this purpose. The agreement means that the collaboration will be effectuated in 2013. In the next report the results of these forums will be presented. Contacting several people from the Mozambican diaspora was a second strategy regarding the field research. I analyzed community festivals, celebrations of Mozambique Independence Day and cultural events focusing on Mozambican culture (see appendix I). Because those parties and cultural experiences are fundamental for the construction of Mozambican identity, I opted out for an intensive field observation, with passive participation (guest or curious) in those events. I complemented the observation by using informal talks with people that attended the events (some they were from Mozambique, others Mozambican residents in Portugal or Portuguese that lived in Mozambique). Also some written questionnaires were sent by email, after the persons had accepted to talk to me. Yet this strategy did not work. So I decided to make ‘live’ interviews. This semi structured interviews were performed with thirteen Mozambican women. In most cases I went to met them at their working places, university or residence, in other cases we met in a café; some interviews were also made via skype. Interviewees were divided into two age groups - younger and older participants – depending on 7

their experiences about the different political phases of contemporary Mozambique history. On the first group I had Juliana Pene, (makonde woman), D. Rosa Fumo (makhwua woman), the painter Lívio de Morais, the photographer Sergio Santimano, the artist José Padua, the painter and writer João Craveirinha and, finally José Júlio a Portuguese painter who lived in Maputo for several years). The makonde artist Nangashinu Ntaluma; Dr. Francisco Magalhães - the owner of the former textile mille TextÁfrica in Chimoio (the full interview can be viewed on appendix I), Tânia Faiane (who developed a workshop about capulanas on June 29, 2013), Romana Mussagy (Mozambican Stylist), Maria Manuel, Rita Mainga and Hamarina Macuanje composed the second group. For the purposes of the Ph.D. dissertation, the most relevant interviews were done with D. Rosa Fumo (makhwua woman see fig1), D. Juliana (see fig. 2 and 3), Dr. Francisco and João Craveirinha2. An interview with the artist Feio (who designed the standards of capulana TextÁfrica) and also Sr Chandra the owner of a capulana shop in Maputo will be conducted in 2014. From these interviews was concluded that capulana is mostly used in community ceremonies to affirm a sense of mozambiqueness. In daily life women prefer to wear western style but sometimes it is usual to use capulana adapted to western style clothing. Especially among young generation, capulana is used to symbolize Africanity/Mozambicaness. Watching documentaries was also an important source for this research. It was important to analyse how people were dressed during different times but also to understand the history of a country and the process of construction of identity. Bellow is the list of the viewed and analysed documentaries: http://www.rtp.pt/wportal/sites/tv/guerracolonial/?id=73&t=2#list73 “Costumes primitivos dos indigenas em Moçambique” http://www.cinemateca.pt/Cinemateca-Digital/Ficha.aspx? obraid=2285&type=Video “Moçambique “http://vimeo.com/19946284 “Terceira Frente -- Moçambique 1964 a 1974” 1ª parte “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuin4adCDjQ 2 After this interview the painter, João Craveirinha developed a blog article that can be read on this link: http://macua.blogs.com/files/autarca_06-11-2013_capulana-1.pdf

“Terceira Frente -- Moçambique 1964 a 1974” 2ª parte http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4f3VXvdgOo

Fig.1: D. Rosa, wearing traditional clothing from Mozambique Island: headscarf, Kimau and capulana. She is also with the mask m’siro. Photography by the author. Lisbon 2012

Fig.2: D. Juliana, wearing capulana. Pemba, 2011.

Fig.3: D. Juliana, makonde woman wearing capulana. Lisboa, 2012.

3. ctivities under the provisional timetable

Fig.4: Provisional timetable for this research

At this stage of the research we mostly worked Laboratory I and started Laboratory II, as will be described on the next section.

urrent status of the research The reported research has evolved positively and have benefited from the fact that the project â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mozambique Capulana in a D4S design perspective: identity, tradition and fashion-able challenges in the XXI centuryâ&#x20AC;&#x153; which I conduct as a researcher, have been funded by FCT since January 2011. This means a significant expansion of the possibilities of obtaining a larger number of data and reliable results, especially with regard to the semi-anthropological field study developed both in Maputo and in Lisbon including, visits to these areas. Also this fellowship facilitates my stays in Delft, where I can have a closer contact with my supervisor and other researchers from that faculty. With the fieldwork data there was a need for formulating the research question. The first research question reported on the first report (2010) was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Can the object capulana boost the creation of hybrid identities through fashion(able), economic 10 How can contemporary fashion based in tradition and culture, contribute to reinforce identity and support the cultural sustainability of African

and inter-cultural development platform?â&#x20AC;? This was reformulated into the following one: My assumptions of this project are: 1- To develop a contemporary fashion that helps to strengthen identity and support cultural sustainability, designers and stylists must be aware of the capulana cultural concepts because they may be the guide to develop sustainable solutions that favor generational gaps about the capulana tradition and the fragile chains of production of clothing. 2- By developing a co-design program with the African community and by using capulanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural concepts at the center of these actions, I may be able to achieve positive results on identity building and cultural sustainability. Thus, at present, the research is related with intervention programs that can unfold co-productive communities and new means to develop identity and sustainability through capulana. The first co-productive community consists of a group of eight African immigrant tailors that live and work in Lisbon. Further research results will be presented in section 3.3. This educational platform was the main focus of the research during this year. Figure 5 shows the research program diagram.

Fig 5: Research Project Diagram As described in the previous report, the evolution of the course for African tailors happened during the year 2012, particularly between November 2011 and December 2012. But a regular presence in the attendance of classes was made from January 2012 to December 2012. This report and specifically the point 3.3, will describe the results which will be part of Chapter V of the thesis, and will be structured as follows:

Action spaces: Towards a well-founded concept: taking action with the community of practice

The African diaspora: Tailors in Lisbon W

1.1

hatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up? Observation about the tailors in Maputo W

1.2

hatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up? Some observations about the tailors in Lisbon Pl

1.3

anning action: 1.3.1 Who? 12

1.3.2 Where? 1.3.3 When? 1.3.5 What? 1.3.6 How? 1.4

e applied methodologies 1.5

e results 1) In parallel to this action research with the African Immigrant tailors, it was built a laboratory at the faculty of Architecture of Lisbon, although I couldn’t achieve the expected results and the justification is explained on the next paragraph. On the 24th of February 2012, the secretary of the scientific research department of the F.A (Faculty of Architecture) communicated the need for the collaboration of PhD students, to give classes during the second semester of 2012. "Modern ethnics " was presented as the thematic of the 1st year of the fashion design course. It was concluded that this thematic fitted perfectly my proposed research theme. For the scope of my project, it was decided with the director of the course, to develop a program (Appendix 1) in order to achieve results for my research project. This group of students may become an important focus group and the exploratory results might contribute to the project I’m developing. However the projected program for the all semester had a short continuity due new circumstances in the University. The program came to an abrupt end because it was not compatible with the expectations of the professor in charge of the course that suddenly (re)joined the new team. Results were not achieved and I quit this program with the 1st year fashion students. Even so, I drafted an article entitled “Cross –cultural dialogue through a rectangle of textile: an educational approach to sustainable fashion design”. The results of this paper were to be presented at the conference Cimode 2012 in Guimarães. However, because of the lack of results, I opted to withdraw the paper. The abstract of this paper is on the appendix B, and the all paper is on this link: 13

http://issuu.com/s_vilarinho/docs/cimode_12___guimar__es__sofia_vilar_c73107d e125242.

5. esearch Structure

In general terms, taking into account the following scheme shown in Figure 4 (provisional Timetable), at this report point the research is on the phase of the laboratory I. It is operationalized with the mapping of African tailors: working places and monitoring work process in Modatex. Along this period I initiated the preliminary fieldwork to develop the laboratories II and III. This phase includes fieldwork in the city of Lisbon to map the Mozambican immigrant community and to develop closer relations as identified on the section 1. I also draw the research structure presented as follows:

Fig.6: Research structure.

6. eep analysis 6.1 The context of African Fashion production: Maputo

Stylists, and specifically men tailors, are central agents in clothing recognized as “creative practices”. Indeed, tailors play an important role in shaping African identities through cloths. In Maputo, they often work with stylists and run their own workshops in “formal” – meaning fix places - or so called “informal” places such as in markets or stands outside in the street where no tax is applied.

Map 1: Based on the map produced for the project report ‘Xiculungo revisitado’ (Paulo. et al., 2011:12) The tailors’ presence considerably contributes to shaping the urban visual experience of the city. Their fashion work is the result of a complex matrix intertwining traditional capulanas involving sewed garments made of capulana, upcycling of imported cloth to better fit African taste, and often a mix of veils and second-hand clothing garments. From several informal interviews, dialogue and meetings at them working places, I realized a number of gaps among tailors’ working conditions and their vocational education: •

ilors’ know-how is part of cultural heritage and an important carrier of cultural identity broadly recognized in society – however it is not at all politically and/or institutionally recognized as a cultural (re)generator / (re)creator that could contribute to a sustainable development. •

Apprenticeship-knowledge–transfer is not valued as an integrant/relevant

component of the formal or informal education system – therefore the whole profession lacks recognition.

•

iloring is traditionally taught through informal apprenticeship; however, there is hardly any apprentice training adopting a full-fledged and coherent education program with masters ready and willing to thoroughly train their pupils up to the highest degree – often their own insecurity lets them lower the training level of fear to train their own future competitors who may exceed their own skills. •

uite some make a good living tailoring. However, many tailors in Maputo live in poor living conditions and work in the “informal” sector. Most of them grew up in the streets or markets without access to basic living conditions, such as electricity, running water or sewage. •

Maputo, the master and his apprentice(s) work by custom order and according to a client’s specification and do not have the chance to develop and deepen their skills and mastery. •

any of the street tailors have no access to a ‘formal’ supportive public system for example of soft loans that would help them to develop better working conditions. Nor do they refer to any formal schooling system, which could empower knowledge and allow obtaining technical skills of master tailors. •

oping for a better future, migration – to other African contexts or to other continents - emerges, for ‘street tailors’ as solutions in the struggle for a better life.

Fig.7: Tailors working in groups at Xipamanine’ market. Photograph by the author, May 2011.

6.2. The context of African Fashion production: Lisbon Regarding African tailors in Lisbon, the following items reflect my main observations. •

Lisbon as in Maputo, many tailors come from West-Africa regions. This proves that tailoring is a low-income profession entailing the need to migrate, all by enabling it as a handcraft that is applicable anywhere in the world. In Lisbon they originate mainly from Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Guinea Conakry, Gambia, Senegal and Cape Verde. •

ey mostly settle and establish their workshops in the areas of Rossio and Martim Moniz, central immigrants’ neighbourhoods in Lisbon, but also in other more peripheral neighbourhoods. Many however, have to set their vocation aside and work in the construction business, because they have had no chance yet to work as tailors; •

ey show to be distant from institutionalized mechanisms of service delivery and schooling systems. Mainly they find support in the community structures. They stay in Lisbon for different periods of time with an immigration ranging from some months to several years; •

great majority of the tailors I interviewed, have the strong wish and intention to return to their home countries; •

eir vocational education in terms of the time they’ve learned tailoring also 17

varies. Most of their clients are from the African community, but some are also Portuguese, Chinese or Brazilians; •

e majority of the tailors have their profession of tailor registered on their passport, which associates a recognized tailor’s status in Africa. •

me of them have their family with them, while others haven’t seen their family for years but each month they try to send money (cash transfers) for them. During the informal interviews I carried out with African tailors in Lisbon, one made me a special request: “Please create a workshop for us, you have so many schools here”. Facing a complex market, this request aimed to fill a gap in their experience, to add new experimentation in pattern cutting, sewing techniques and innovation in design to achieve greater professional skills. With this course, they hoped to update their techniques and know-how about clothing in general.

Map 2: Map of the area under study in Lisbon, showing localizations (tailors ateliers, tailors’ homes and the school Modatex).

Facing the issues stated in the last sections and reflecting on this request, the following question arose:

How can tailoring be re-appropriated by the “formal” education system, in order to upgrade African tailors' knowledge and skills while at the same time meeting the demands of better working conditions and affirming their identity in the global context today? Assuming that "immigrants are active co-inhabitants of a place and co-producer of a local culture" (Fonseca, 2003: 3), I carried out an action-research in Lisbon and I opted for a training course that enabled the author to work in partnership with the community in a manner that led to action for change. The curriculum could be developed according to their interests and needs, to renovate and empower their cultural knowledge about tailoring. The first step was to find a technical school that could be a partner for this research. Modatex became a partner for the project. And the creation of the course relied on new support for immigrant tailors. This action intends to find means to empower tailoring vocation through the development of a course especially adapted to this group of tailors. It aims at strengthening the profession to enable a better footing in society and allow for these groups well-merited improved and sustainable living conditions. The curriculum was based on a collaborative learning process, to find a relational space to develop knowledge; knowledge that results from the symbiosis of their knowledge from their tailoring experience and the “technical knowledge” from schooling systems. 6.3. Applied methodology As methods, this research takes a grounded theory approach, (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Merriam, 2009) analyzing data regarding: i) the fieldwork study about local situation of the African tailors in both urban center ii) the case study with Africa immigrant tailors in Lisbon. The qualitative semi structured interviews were used as a method as also observation and reports. Some interviews were made at participants’ work sites, others during the course. These interviews were audio or video recorded and transcribed. On another stage of the research we took an approach based on participatory research where the involved community participated not only, in the conception and design of the program but also on data collection. As background values, the laboratory presented here is underpinned with the basic concepts of the constructivist approach (Piaget, 1970; Marshall, 1996) to 19

education while following the recommendations of the author Mayer (2004) about using guided discovery, a mix of direct instruction and hands-on activity as methods of support for an effective constructivist approach. The ideas of the designer Ehrenfeld (2008) are also borne in mind, which point to the need for sustainable development “by focusing on the 'being' mode of human existence rather than on the unsustainable 'having'". The author stresses the need to build individual capability through social responsibility actions as the basis for an integral development of both ‘self-making’ (personhood, improving autonomy, hope and wellbeing) and of ‘place making’ (improving livelihood, behaviour, skills and enhancing the role as citizen and practitioners) where tailors’ work and cultural creativity are seen as key for African Fashion's competiveness and its effective participation in the world market. 6.4. How did it work? Given the purpose of the investigation I decided that the population to be studied was composed by a group of at least 123 African immigrant tailors, whose characteristics match the following criteria: to be an African tailor; to have practice on this skill; to understand and speak the basic of Portuguese language; to have regularized the immigration citizen status. To define the population we used the following sources of information gathering: references from ACIDI (Alto Comissariado para a Imigração e Diálogo Intercultural) data base; contacted various associations of African immigrants in Lisbon (Associação comunidária, Associação Casa da Guiné, Associação Casa de Moçambique, Associação Caboverdiana, Associação Solidadriedade Imigrante, etc)4; However, even with an important role on immigration contest, no institution had actual data about immigrant African tailors that lives and work in Lisbon. Thus it was necessary to start an intensive field research to map them. This mapping was made with the aid of an African tailor from Guinea Bissau, who volunteered to 3 Twelve students is the minimum students number requered to start a course at Modatex 4 These are important associations that play central role in the integration process of immigrants as they work closely to give them direct support: at the level of social and community development, while defending immigrant interests and necessities. Some of this associations work on opportunities for professional engagement and others develop cultural actions and promote sport. These associations contribute to developing cultural enhancement and building bridges with the culture of the host societies, while listening and experiencing immigrant problems, thus holding the role of privileged interlocutors facing public and political agenda.

contact the other tailors. This help was crucial because it favor a better integration for me as designer in the community and also developed trust during the moment we met the other elements. Departing from the analysis of the aforementioned means, we define a population group consisting of 20 immigrant tailors. Then in order to identify the most relevant cases for the study and willingness to participate on the study, I convened a deeper interview with the potential candidates, at the headquarters of Modatex5. The questions asked concerned the following items: A

nalysis of general knowledge about the profession of tailor. A

nalysis of the situation of legality on the country, family situation and mensal income. A

nalysis of the tailor provision to participate and integrate this pilot course. From the group we identified only 12 elements that met the requisites to initiate the study named: educational platform for African tailors (EPAT). Our assumption of this part of the project is that, if we develop a collaborative educational program based on disciplines that will empower tailorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skills, we will reach identity building, cultural valorisation, and social equity. Based upon the data from the first interviews, I was able to identify the following aspects in the group of tailors: -

They are facing hard life conditions consequences of migrant

situation; -

Most of them are still waiting for permission to remain in Portugal;

They live in poor conditions, with lack of access to employment,

5 The fashion Institute Modatex, collaborated on this proposal and for the first time a course specifically for African Immigrant Tailors was developed. The chronogram of the course is shown on the appendix D.

resorting usually to ‘irregular’ contracts; -

They live under stigma of informal webs - enclosed in the African

community and its structures; -

They have restricted access to renting houses; usually live in the

periphery of Lisbon, sharing houses with other members of the family or with other immigrants; -

Their living conditions are poor, without access to schooling,

surviving on the edge of the society. -

They lack access of tailoring education; concerns regarding their

tailor techniques. -

They have writing problems as a result of the oral tradition education

systems and lack of schooling in their countries of origin -

They face precarious health care system.

Therefore, the purpose of developing an “educational platform for African Tailors” (EPAT) that proposes individuals the possibility to participate may converge towards a constant encouragement of the immigrant participants to progress their personal development and social inclusion, but also to learn from them other cultural perspectives about tailoring, transforming EPAT action into a space of mediation and dialogue to perform an in-depth inquiry about African and Western ways of developing clothing.

6.5. Goals The main goals of the course -

develop the first co-learning platform for African tailors, where culture works as a mediator and provides space for dialogue. 22

develop a pilot project in the context of African Diaspora, aiming to apply in other African diaspora contexts and locally in African. Specific goals: -

Develop a program which focus on the development of different technical skills, whereby the student can apply and add to them own knowledge, mostly carried from the African learning with the African masters (apprenticeship system of learning) and the practice they had on them ateliers.

To build constructive dialogues while the teacher and the author adopted a â&#x20AC;&#x153;guided discovery methodâ&#x20AC;? (Mayer, 2004) to produce conditions for knowledge construction and sharing, where culture, creativity and sustainable development met cross-knowledge sharing in tailoring.

Empower tailors' knowledge but also improves their livelihood.

It is projected that this course will enable the development of technical and cognitive abilities for tailors; allows the creation of a third knowledge that results from the union of the already existing traditional knowledge with the knowledge acquired throughout the course. Finally this practice allows the change for the African community, as well as sustainable and tangible manifestation of an intangible cultural heritage. 6.6. The organization of the course In a one-year workshop, which runs from November 2011 to December 2012, culture, creativity and sustainable development met cross-knowledge sharing on tailoring. The first course included 8 tailors [23] together with a team of 5 teachers. It was based on disciplines that comprise the four phases of developing a garment: 1st drawing; 2nd pattern making; 3rd cutting out; 4th sewing. In addition to these core subjects, we added two more disciplines: IT (1st level) and materials technology (1st level). The course followed a twice-a-week schedule, from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. However, we discovered that tailors faced big difficulties in coming to the classes due to a lack of money. To encourage better financial conditions for the tailors, Modatex tried all possible means to get a scholarship to help them to come to school. In February 2012, the tailors started receiving a small subsidy that covered 23

the cost of public transport (4.25 euros per day). We developed a program which focus on the development of different technical skills whereby the student can apply and add to them own knowledge, mostly carried from the African learning with the African masters (apprenticeship) and the practice they had on them ateliers. Here are the main disciplines of the program, further information is found on the appendix C. The program was divided into four main modules. The coherence of the programme model was developed with the tailors, as follows: 1-

Creative challenges: fabrics, colour and drawing.

Pattern cutting upgrade. Specifically we worked on an introduction

to pattern cutting; constructing and transforming basic pattern cutting (skirt, trousers, body); finally, we worked towards the assignment of constructing a classic women's jacket. 3-

Empowerment skills: cutting and sewing

Technologies: from fabrics to social networks. We introduced textile technology and also information technology. The first subject focused on classifying different textile fibres and the second one focused on setting up an email account and also a facebook page. 6.7. Operationalization The course started by doing exercises in creativity where tailors tried drawing clothing. The author was the facilitator of this class, and explored notions of drawing, colour and textures with the tailors. The tailors were challenged to explore their own creativity freely. The author guided the exercise or the discovery (Mayer, 2004:16) and facilitated the experiences (gave them a bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;base for fashion drawings, coloured pencils, and showed them some technical drawings). The final results became the basis for the next steps of the course: pattern, cutting and sewing. In relation to pattern, cutting, and sewing, the teacher and author applied the following method: they showed the way to the solution of the exercise and the tailors followed a worksheet that guided them in the exercise and repeated the steps. In that way, they made both a personal analysis of the exercise and thought about paths to the solution. During the exercises, some tailors collaborated with one another towards shared understanding, but they also asked teachers for guidance for 24

complete and deep understanding. The process was implemented based on “learning by thinking“ (Mayer, 2004:18) about what they were doing. In summary, to develop this course I used Lave’s suggestions (2011: 17) as a starting point. The comparative model between informal education and formal education is described as follows in Diagrams1 and 2. This approached allowed to achieve a third model of education, called co-education (Diagram 3). In order to focus on the tailors’ needs, I opted out for verbal discussions and exercise demonstrations that could support knowledge development based on observation, reflection and personal exploration for the exercise. The contextualized approach provides opportunities for tailors to engage in active learning. The programme was developed using both theoretical disciplines and skill sets simultaneously within a shared cultural context. Indeed, most analyses of teaching systems tend to distinguish between formal and informal education. 1) Traditional Society ‘Informal’ education

Demonstration

Learning embedded in everyday activities (Socialization)

& Observation

Context-bound Concrete non-verbal comprehension of

Content:

specific activities

understanding No general learning transfer

Morals, beliefs manners, values

2) Modern Society Formal education in African contexts

Verbal instruction of general principles.

Out of context learning (Schooling)

Learning through language (frequently foreign)

Context-free General understanding

Content: skills Knowledge Symbol systems

General understanding of rules built through Abstraction and generalization

General learning transfer

However, we opted to compose a course with both elements, a core requirement for sustainability.

3) Sustainable society Co-learning education Verbal discussion of specific principles. Demonstration, observation,

In-context learning

Contents: Skill set development Contextualized learning transfer Cultural Knowledge

6.8. Main conclusions

reflection and

Context-focus on difficulties

Concrete understanding

Situated

built through

understanding

contextualized exercises

Fig.8: Diagram of the cultural knowledge transfer chains

The conclusion of the course made it possible for me to understand and summarize the situation about cultural knowledge transfer that grows with EPAT experience. Figure 7 presents the main stakeholders involved and the knowledge transfer levels between them: -

Path 1 characterizes knowledge transfer that derives from both learning

systems, the informal one (the one they bring with them since Africa) and the formal one based on culture (the one introduced and developed during EPAT). On this case tailors received knowledge from both systems. -

Path 2 indicates knowledge transfer that becomes from tailors, the one they

share at EPAT and the one they apply and transfer to the other colleagues or when returning in Africa after EPAT. -

Path 3 is the knowledge that comes from â&#x20AC;&#x153;real situationsâ&#x20AC;? as the knowledge

shared with the users (because the development of a garment is always a sharing dialogue with the tailor and the client) or from the production on them ateliers (as making garments is always a process of learning). This type of knowledge also has is reflection on informal and formal systems, because tailors bring it and dialogue about it during the sessions. Path 4 is the synthesis of the three types of knowledge transfer just mentioned. It also highlights that a link between EPAT and informal education originated a kind of third space of knowledge production and 27

transfer. It was observed that tailors apply and develop this “third knowledge “ on their real contexts of production. I also used lines in different shapes to identify the intensity of the shared knowledge. Analysing the diagram dark grey lines indicates a type of knowledge that becomes from the master tailors (during informal learning) or from the teachers (at EPAT-formal learning). Regarding tailors sharing knowledge, I analysed that it was more intense on informal education systems that for EPAT. Even though they have shared cultural knowledge during EPAT, the objective was to empower their cultural knowledge, so that they could make it grow on their real contexts (on them workshops and with the other tailors’ apprentices or colleagues). The dashed line (path 3) is greyer than the other two from the same path, because the shared knowledge by users and during production (in real tailors contexts) is assimilated directly by the tailor and so is stronger than the one that arrives (with tailors) at both referred systems. Path 4 is very important for analysis, as I will expand it in depth. Drawing on Kanu, the classroom became “a 'third space' which recognizes the heterogeneous base of useful knowledge and the need to find abiding links that connect African knowledge and values to the knowledge and values entailed in Western education” (2007: 78). But it was outside the school that tailors grow this third space for knowledge production, by mixing techniques learnt at EPAT with them ‘own’ techniques. For example, some tailors told me that to develop a jacket, they only use the sleeve pattern that was made at the school, because it has a perfect headsleeve and the rest of the jacket they still cutting it directly on the fabric without the aid of patterns. Other achieved results apart from this diagram resulted from the dialogue and sharing approach developed during EPAT. As in a workshop, “the spoken word seems more effective than written instructions” (Sennett, 2008:179). We intended to stimulate horizontal dialogue so whenever a procedure became difficult, tailors shared and discussed among themselves and with the teachers. The exercises were transmitted and proposed in such a way as to ensure reflection, challenge and questions. Open-ended questions (made by the teacher and the author) helped tailors to realize how the new information gained during the course might relate to their own experience on tailoring. 28

The importance of appropriation in this process was expressed in several ways: a group facilitator emerged naturally from the tailors. This facilitator – a tailor became responsible for updating me about certain “backstage” talks that tailors had between them. This tailor was also responsible for explaining a certain exercise that was not understood at first. Usually, he explained the exercise in Fulah, a West African language used by most of the tailors attending the workshop. Many sessions were recorded using photography and video. Gradually, tailors also participated in these records, also starting recording and showing what they wanted to be visible and the way they wanted to be represented.

6.9. Other findings concerning each discipline in particular In terms of the course pattern cutting was the main discipline of the course, fifteen hours at total. And was the most difficult one for the tailors, because they were not used to develop patterns with such rigorous rules. Tailors used to cut directly on the cloth, and they do not follow the method of pattern cutting, using a previous pattern made with paper. At the course we introduced a new technic for tailors. From the beginning was difficult for them to understand this technic of working with patterns. We analysed that they had difficulties with pattern’s construction, rules implying technical rigor that includes mathematics and basic knowledge on geometric forms as angles, parallels and perpendiculars. They also demonstrated to be unfamiliar in using basic torso to create thee-dimensional forms or to better understand a pattern. They showed several difficulties with rotation exercises of armhole and waist darts. But gradually tailors start to understand and the teacher made an effort to explain such methods in a way that they could better understand. Here is an example of how the course developed: According to Western school traditions the teacher uses a paper pattern as a cutting basis on the fabric. At the beginning tailors obviously did not understand and follow the technical language and arithmetic issues. The teacher and I therefore reformulated the modelling program. We had to develop a way of doing patterns all by letting deeper arithmetic rules aside. In the end, we approached the question backwards: we presented final formulas first, asking the tailors to develop them on the pattern cutting. Further, angles for example were not presented as a numeric numbers anymore but as image by means of examples (more precise even: photos, 29

patterns in different development phases, parts of cloths) the teacher showed how and in which steps the patterns were constructed. The use of technical rules was another difficulty in the beginning. But tailors increasingly started to use and understand the potentiality of such rules and gradually abandoned their traditional measure-tape and other empirical methods of measurements, like folding fabric and hand spans. They, of course, showed different ways and methods to obtain a least similar result. Tailors demonstrated a deep difficulty to understand theory about textiles we concluded that this is a too theoretical discipline for students that has lack of schooling. They had many difficulties in writing and developing dialogue about different fibbers. Mainly they understood cotton and the other natural fibres, which were the most familiar for them. Informatics was a great motivation for all tailors. Initial basis learning about this discipline, enable tailors to have an email and Facebook account, this last one contributed enormously to communication worldwide and specially with people from their country land. 6.10. Results A web platform was opened to show the evolution of this course and can be viewed on the following URL: http://africantailors.wordpress.com. In general the program developed a very successful structure for knowledge exchange. It gave the profession a new footing and boosted the individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; selfesteem. It certainly encouraged these tailors to become active members of the visual culture of the city of Lisbon - promoting their role as agents of African modernity and highlighting their place in the steady reinvention of fashion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and opened new perspectives for them to return home and open up a workshop on their own where they can transfer and share their knowledge and train a new generation of tailors. Indeed, after the program, some of the participants decided to continue and further develop their skills following other courses that Modatex offers, others opened their own workshop in Lisbon as a business to sustain their living. One of them became legal in the country and another tailor obtained residence permission for two years. The program proved to be efficient although the developed program must be reformulated. To start immediately with pattern cutting and having 50 continued hours of the same classes were too exhaustive for the tailors so this detail must be 30

reformulated on the second edition of this course. It was decided to start the program with drawing where tailors will draw the ideas (a dress and a jacket) to be developed in the in the following disciplines: pattern cutting, cut up and sewing. The project also reminds how spaces of mediation and dialogue (i.e the platform at Modatex) may become the key engine of a ‘local’ participation in a global ecosystem. Finally, I sincerely believe that the training program for master-tailors proved to be efficient also for future local application in Africa. Even without a schoolingsystem behind, it is possible to develop several workshops to upgrade mastertailors’ knowledge all by enhancing and respecting their respective cultural background. Moreover, the media cached an eye on their work: magazines and TV programs came to see their work – and I still today receive inquiries on the course. We will start the 2nd edition of the course, on 8 July 2013 and expect a class of 12 African tailors. 6.11. Media coverage

Fig.9: Interview for the program “Rumos”- RTP Africa in 18th July http://www.rtp.pt/programa/tv/p28543/c88150

Fig.10: Interview for the Radio, RDP Africa, http://www.rtp.pt/rdpafrica/?t=os-Alfaiatesafricanos.rtp&article=910&visual=15&tm=17

7. esearch through oriented readings

In these twelve months I did the collection, analysis, selection and interpretation of relevant literature to the topic and started the process of guided reading for the following references below. This selection of literature was important to an understanding about capulana: i) the discussion about production of African Textiles and the way they are working African identities; ii) to achieve deeper understanding and Indian Ocean economy and cultural challenges on this territory; iii) to understand others situations and field –studies made among African tailors; iv) To carry out research about informal systems in Maputo; v) to understand theory about constructivist approaches on education; vi) to understand and contextualize immigrant policies in Lisbon -

kinwumi, T. (2008) “ ‘African Print’ Hoax: Machine Produced textiles Jeopardize African Print Authenticity”, The Journal of pan African Studies, 2 (4), 178-191. -

nelf, S. (2011) Sexuality and Gender Politics in Mozambique: Rethinking Gender in Africa, Boydell & Brewer Ltd ts, J. (2012). Vlisco. Netherlands: Artez Press. 32

rthes, R. (2006) The Language of Fashion. Oxford: Berg Publishers. -

nate, L. (2006) Matriliny, Islam and gender. In Journal of Religion in Africa, 2(36), 139-166. -

nate, L. (2007) Roots of diversity in Mozambican Islam. In Lusotopie, 14(1), 129-149. -

Dava, C, Low, J., Cristina, M. (1998) Mecanismos de ajuda mutual e

redes informais de protecção social: estudo de caso da províncias de Gaza e Nampula e a cidade de Maputo. Probreza e bem estar em Moçambique. Article Stable URL: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/portug/pubs/books/ch6.pdf [accessed 16 March 2012]. -

Dennen, V. P., Burner, K. J. (2008) The Cognitive Apprenticeship

Model in Educational Practice. Florida: Florida State University. Article Stable URL: http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/Alhassan/Hand%20book%20on %20research%20in%20educational %20communication/ER5849x_C034.fm.pdf. [accessed 15 February 2012]. -

Eherenfeld, J. (2008) Sustainability by Design. Yale University

Press, Washington. -

nseca M.L. (2003) Integração dos Imigrantes: estratégias e protagonistas. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. -

ad-Luke, A. (2009). Design activism beautiful strangeness for a Sustainable World. London: Earthscan. -

genbach, H. (2003). ‘Boundaries of Beauty, Tatooed secrets of women’s History in Magude district, Southern Mozambique’ Indiana University Press, 14, 4, 106-177. -

Gillow, J. (2003) African Textiles, Colour and Creativity across a

Continent. Thames & Hudson, London. 33

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded

theory. Chicago:Adline. -

Grabski, J. (2009) Making fashion in the city: A case study of tailors

and designers in Dakar, Senegal. Fashion Theory: the Journal of Dress, Body&Culture, 13.2, 215-242. -

Horta, A.P.B. (2008) Que Cidadania? Etnicidade, Identidades

Locais e Agenciamento na Periferia de Lisboa. VI Congresso Portugues de Sociologia, Lisboa, 2-13. -

Jawando, J.; Samuel, O.; Odunaike, B. (2012) Apprenticeship

Culture among Traditional Tailors in Atiba Local Government Area in Oyo State, South Western, Nigeria. In: Mediterrain Journal of Social Sciences 3.3, 179-186. -

Kanu, Y. (2007) Tradition and Educational Reconstruction in Africa

in Postcolonial and Global Times: The Case for Sierra Leone, African Studies Quarterly, 10.3, 66- 84. -

Kirby, K (2013). Bazin Riche in Dakar, Senegal: Altered Inception,

Use and Wear. In African Dress Fashion Agency and Performance. Ed. Hansen, K and Madison D.S. London, pp.63- 76. -

Lave, J. (1977). Cognitive consequences of Traditional Training in

West Africa. Antropology & Education Quartely 8(3), pp. 177-180. -

Lave, J. (1991). Situating learning in communities of practice. In

Resnick L., Levine, J., and Teasley, S. (Eds) Perspectives on socially shared cognition, Washington,DC:APA, pp. 63-82. -

Lave, J. (2011). Apprenticeship in Critical Ethnographic Practice.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press. -

nnebuhr E. (1989). The role of cloth for social and economic change: an evaluation of David Miller's data from southeast Tanzania. In: Linnebuhr (ed), Transition and continuity of identity in East Africa and beyond:in memoriam David Miller. Bayreuth University, pp. 295-303. -

achado, P. (2008). Awash in a Sea of Cloth: South Asian Merchants, Cloth and Consumption in the Indian Ocean, 1300-1800. In Riello, J. & 34

Parthasarathi P. (ed), The Spinning World: A Global History of Cotton Textiles, 1200-1850, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.161-179. -

achado, P. (2003).A Forgotten Corner of the Indian Ocean: Gujarati Merchants, Portuguese India and the Mozambique Slave-Trade, c.17301830. In: Slavery and Abolition: A journal of Slave and Post –Slave Studies, 24(2), pp. 17- 32. -

Nhamué, C. (2004) Roupa Africana e Identidade na Cidade de

Maputo, MA dissertation on Sociology. Maputo: University Eduardo Mondlane. -

Nhatsave, N. (2011). Mecanismos Informais de Protecção Social em

Moçambique O Caso do Xitique. Bachelor degree of Economics. Maputo:Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. -

Paulo, M., Rosário, C., Tvedten, I. (2011). ‘Xiculungo’ Revisitado

Avaliando as Implicações do PARPA II em Maputo 2007-2010. CMI (Chr Michelsen Institut) report, Maputo. -

Piaget, J. (1970). Science of education and psychology of the child.

New York: Oxford University Press. -

Prestholdt, J. (2004). On the Global Repercussions of East African

Consumerism.In The American Historical Review 109( 3) ,pp.755-781. -

Reed, H. J. & Lave, J. (1979) Arithmetic as a Tool for Investigating

Relations between Culture and Cognition.In American Ethnologist 6 (3), pp. 568-582. -

nnet, R. (2008). The craftsman. Penguin Books, London -

Trindade, C. (2013). O dinheiro em poder delas: a pratica do xitique

na cidade de Maputo. Seminário Internacional fazendo género, desafios atuais dos feminismos, pp.328-339. -

Viana, D., Sanz, R., Natálio, A. (2013). Aprendendo com a forma

urbana de Maputo (in)formal. Revista de Morfologia Urbana, 1, pp.17-30 -

Zimba, B (2011). O papel da mulher no consumo de tecido importado no

norte e no sul de Moçambique, entre os finais do século XVIII e os meados do século XX. Cadernos de História de Moçambique, 1, pp.25-41. 35

8. ublications

This section presents the titles of the communications that have been prepared for submission in 2012, as well as the communications presented during this year's research. Appendix B contains summaries of such communications. Submitted for future presentation International communications: S.Vilarinho, “Second hand clothing: the cutting edge of the new fashion both in Europe and Africa”, submitted (Maio, 2012) for presentation Moda Cult – Center for the Study of Fashion and for cultural Production, Milan Italy S.Vilarinho, Capulana: a cultural symbol of local creativity that struggle for ‘Mozambiqueness’, submitted (September, 2012), journal Third Text Africa Mozambique issue, Gardens, South Africa. Vilarinho, S. “Tailoring modernity’s in the 21th century: a co-education program designed with the African tailors in Lisbon” ( Outubro 2012) para apresentação na conferência ECAS: The Fifth European Conference on African Studies , Center of African Studies of the University Institute, Lisboa , Junho 2013 National communication S. Vilarinho, "Tailoring cloth, tailoring alternative modernity's on the 21th century: a co-education program designed with the African tailors in Lisbon" submetido (Março, 2012) para apresentação na conferência UDesign’12, 1º encontro nacional doutorandos em Design, Julho 2012, em Aveiro, Portugal. International Communication S.Vilarinho, “Second hand clothing: the cutting edge of the new fashion both in Europe and Africa”, presented at the conference 13th International Conference of ModaCult - Center for the Study of Fashion and of Cultural Production of the Università Cattolica of Milan. Milan 7-9 June 2012 Presentations Vilarinho, S. “Second hand clothing: the cutting edge of the new fashion both in Europe and Africa”. Fashion Tales 2012, 13th International Conference of ModaCult - Center for the Study of Fashion and of Cultural Production of the Università Cattolica de Milão. Italy 36

Vilarinho, S. "Tailoring cloth, tailoring alternative modernity's on the 21th century: a co-education program designed with the African tailors in Lisbon". UDesign’12, 1º encontro nacional doutorandos em Design, Julho 2012, Aveiro, Portugal. Vilarinho, S, “Mozambique’s capulana:an et(n)hical approach for Sustainable Fashion Design. Designa’12. Novembro, 2012, Covilhã, Portugal.

9. uture Work

•

To Continue the research through targeted readings (not only those provided in the bibliography presented in the proposal but also others that arise in the meantime; •

llection, analysis and interpretation of relevant literature for the development of the thesis; •

velopment of laboratories focusing the second focus group: Mozambican women in Lisbon. Forums of dialogue and the development of design process and practice will be the core of the next year.

The plan provided for the year 2013, is presented as follows:

Table 1: diagram showing the research tasks for the year of 2013.

10. Conclusions This year the research took place according to plan and there were some discrepancies compared to the originally planned but in my opinion, not compromising the development of the research. The developed laboratory with the group of immigrant tailors proved to be an effective action that improved change for tailorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; life. The investigation is now in a phase of intense work processing and analysing data material to build up a second course for a second class of immigrant tailors that will start in 2013. Also emerges as significant that Costume Museum became a partner on this research allowing continuity on the process of the laboratory with the Mozambican women.

Appendix A Fashion design Program - presented for the 2nd semester at FAUTL

Exercício Ethnics

prof. Sofia Vilarinho

Antropologia de Moda Enquadramento do tema “ethnics”, “Ethnic garment”: African, Indian, Oriental. Formação de grupos de pesquisa, selecção da etnia e esboço /apresentação de linhas directorias para uma pesquisa de campo baseada n traje tradicional e na fusão deste com o estilo europeu Moda de Rua: zonas a pesquisar Martim Moniz, Intendente bairros periféricos, mercados ... Análise dos dados recolhidos: fotografias, entrevistas, vídeo, peças de roupa Objectivos: Os objectivos principais deste exercício pretendem que os alunos tomem conhecimento com elementos tradicionais de inspiração utilizados em design de moda para que possam aprender a dissecar os elementos básicos da construção de um discurso lógico e coerente do design de moda.

Exercício LAB

prof. Sofia Vilarinho

O exercício Lab é composto por diferentes exercícios subsequentes: Lab1: what is your pattern ID? Exploração criativa e conceptual. Visual communication. Desenvolver um projecto de capulana ID. Processos: colagem, “assemblage”, desconstrução, etc. Lab2 : The color of your emotion. Cor vs. emoção . Respectivas referencias na etnia estudada. Projecto experiencia sobre a cor e a comunicação de emoções através dela. Lab3: Clothing as a ritual. O aluno vs. comunidade. Make a “fashion-able “ vídeo ou fotografia . Pretende-se que o aluno interaja directamente com a comunidade ou com os panos dessa comunidade , acionando o “textile embodiment experience” Lab4: Clothing as (de)form. Partido da analise das principais formas que compõem o traje étnico (e sua analogia aos conceitos da capulana) , propõemse ao aluno a experimentação de novas composições de modo a que a forma principal (rectângulo) seja sempre reconhecida.

Objectivos: pretende-se que os alunos tomem conhecimento da praxis de

Exercício D4S: Hands-on culture

prof. Sofia Vilarinho

Projecto Final: Desenvolver uma coleção de 3 coordenados , partindo sempre do rectângulo de tecido e o seu enquadramento numa linguagem contemporânea e sustentável. Aproximação a uma linguagem de Moda D4S Objectivos: O projeto final, será baseado no significado de re-culture.Abrindo linguagens de Moda no campo do Modern –ethnics. O aluno conceptualiza a coleção partindo do upgrade da tradição étnica . Pretende-se que o aluno -experiencie uma abordagem da linguagem de Moda através de processos /métodos fashion-able, repair, reuse, recycle, reporpose. - trabalhe a partir da cultura afastando-se da classificação “exótico” , - desenhe uma coleção de 3 coordenados e desenvolva know-how sobre os princípios basicos para o desenvolvimento de uma coleção

Appendix B Abstracts 1.

cond-hand clothing: The cutting edge of the new fashion in Lisbon and Maputo Abstract: The movement of second-hand clothes (SCH) is gaining more and more visibility due its mobility and the mutability of meanings clothing acquire within cultural, spatial and temporal contexts. Starting from an historical overview of SHC trade, this article reviews consumption practices of SHC by examining two contexts: Lisbon and Maputo. The paper focuses deeply on SHC’s consumer culture to sharpen an understanding of how this used garments creates ‘value’ while communicating ‘authentic ‘ identities on both markets, from 1990’s to nowadays. By stressing both cultural expressions Vintage vs. Xicalamidade as articulators of the ‘new’ garment made by participative stories, dreams and meanings of personal narratives, this article seeks to unveil the interweaving fashion-able map of the cosmopolitan cultural landscape both in Lisbon and Maputo. Thus the paper will also shows the importance of SHC to work appearance and visual identity through sustainable consumption practices on the 21st century.

pulana: a cultural symbol of local creativity that struggle for ‘Mozambiqueness’ Abstract: The capulana - a piece of fabric - is part of Mozambique’s intangible cultural heritage. Crossing the country North to South, this colorfully printed fabric blazons female (and male) bodies, reflecting a long past of negotiations on social, political and gender levels. According to some authors, since the end of 19th century capulana works as a communicative tool documenting a gendered verbalized story, from generation to generation. Shaped by the complex relationships that characterizes the world cultural encounters in the Indian Ocean, Capulana echoes both oppression and freedom, the local and the global, the modern and the traditional. Set in motion by contacts of various forms, the capulana became one of the symbols of struggle for national heritage, and is nowadays a sign of Mozambiqueness. This article is part of a broader PhD research project; it aims to study, from a sociocultural approach, how of identity, tradition, and fashion-able challenges of the African capulana are marking the 21st century fashion styles. This paper aims to discuss how capulana acts as a sign of identity trough cross-cultural influences on the India Ocean Africa. It highlights the historical routes and its appropriations by traditional and modern clothing. The goal is to open up a debate about the potentiality of this fabric’s heirloom both, on a political level - due to the current nationalism - and on a social level – by emphasizing creativity upgraded to modernizing Mozambique.

Ta iloring modernity’s in the 21 century: a co-education program designed with the African tailors in Lisbon th

Short Abstract: African tailors are one of the main agents in the creation of local/regional fashion. This article discusses a case study with African tailors in Lisbon. In a one-year Lab/workshop, culture, creativity and sustainable development met cross-knowledge sharing on tailoring. Abstract: Working with a cosmopolitan vision, African tailors are readers and narrators of a dialectic relationship between Africa’s tradition and contemporaneity. Aesthetics par excellence, tailors, using mainly capulana and African wax fabrics, baste ‘new’ cloth to dress the ‘new’ Africa(s). As this research identified, the endogenous knowledge these tailors hold is not recognized as a cultural (re) generator. This project is part of a PHD research project aiming both to apply, at an academic level, identity, tradition and fashion-able challenges of African capulana fabric into the 21th century fashion and, in parallel, to contribute, in a applied form, towards social justice through sustainable fashion design; this latter seen as a vehicle for knowledge empowerment, to improve better livelihood and selfrepresentation. Specifically, this article proposes the first co-learning platform for African tailors, where culture works as mediation for space and dialogue. Conceived by the author and fashion designer Sofia Vilarinho and supported by the Fashion Institute Modatex, the model has been developed in Lisbon, with the aim to apply it locally, in various African contexts. This program may contribute to develop a model of working, facing an alternative approach to the 21th fashion/clothing system and exchanging deeper values that work on cognitive levels, identity, and cultural narratives together with economic sustainability.

cross –cultural dialogue through a rectangle of textile: an educational approach to sustainable fashion design”

Abstract: Departing from the reflection about fashionable Africanisms, this paper reports about an on-going study focused on a cross-cultural immersion program in fashion design, currently being developed with first year fashion students of the Lisbon Faculty of Architecture, and based upon the conceptual developments done by the author about the Mozambican fabric: the capulana. This study is based on a fashion-able approach program that focuses on sustainability in fashion design and thinking, through dialogues between students and immigrant communities in Lisbon. It is also intended to propose fashion-able practices by exploring the rectangular shape of a fabric, which is at the base of African and Indian outfits. In this process a rectangular fabric left uncut is proposed as the starting point of a conceptual and fashion-able approach that merges fabric, form and body. This praxis would help students explore notions of tradition and contemporaneity, while in parallel working on identity processes through fashion. At the same time, these moments should allow to free students from the ‘conventions’ on western clothing and to explore individual creativity while reformulating body boundaries. Indeed, the proposed horizontal dialogues and the cross-cultural approach may help western students to experience another view on cultural ways of fashion.

M ozambique’s capulana: an et(n)hical approach for Sustainable Fashion Design

Abstract: Departing from the proposed capulana’ cultural concepts, this paper aims i) to open up a debate about the conceptual potentiality of the capulana, and ii) to propose a more sustainable use of this African fabric. A deeper reading of this African textile is seen

as the framework and tool to a hands-on process on sustainable fashion design. The interwoven capulana’s cultural concepts- defined by the author as co-design, affectivity and slow-fashion- will argue how this approach is linked to the main axis on sustainable fashion design principles, as suggested by authors as Fletcher (2008) and Fuad-Luke (2009). Here a “hands‐ on culture” clothing program is developed with two different groups of African immigrant community. With this process we achieve new identity discourses and cultural awareness that will improve wellbeing and livelihood for the community. Heritage knowledge is here an agent for negotiation of social empowerment and change, facing sustainable fashion design practices.

Appendix C

This appendix has the following information: Agreement between Modatex and the researcher General characterization of the Course for African Tailors The chronogram of the course for African Tailors

Appendix D: drawings of the tailors 44

Drawings that give the creative direction of the final results exhibit at the school

Appendix E: Some photos of the course

Appendix F â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tailorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interviews Tailors Interviews: data collection Several interviews were made along the course but also important ones, were made on them working places. We taped these face- to- face interviews with the permission of the interviewee. Also several video formats were made. The biggest disadvantage of this interview technique is the possible influence of the interviewer on the interviewee: the way I have put the questions, the type of exchange relationship that is established and the scope of the interview. I took into attention this difficulty tried to get a neutral attitude not to influence the answers given by respondents. A pre-elaborated guide guided the interviewees that consist of a group of the following questions: At your country of origin 1) When did become a tailor apprentice? 2)

And the school did you continue or stopped?

Who was your master and where did you learn tailoring?

You have selected your master or you have been chosen for him?

Your master is a model for you?

6) Did you have to prove some capacity to your master? Did he make a kind of "test" before you start your learning? 7)

What were your daily functions as an apprentice?

What was the first thing you have learned with your master?

Describe what you did?

10) You simply watched the master or he let it run some errands? If yes, what were these tasks? 11) How many months after arriving at the studio he blamed for more specialized tasks? 12)

How was the competition among apprentices?

13) There were more apprentices was alone with himself or his master? How does your master taught you? 14)

What his master taught you to do? Skirts? Pants? Tunics?

15)

There was some order in this learning? How was that process?

16)

What does your master taught you in the firstly? And next and next?

17) There were specific models that were copied? Levels of learning tests? 18) Draw and cut. Who did it? You or your master? When did he blame you to cut a piece of clothing? Remember that first time? What did you feel? 19) Does your learning, as a tailor was also a school of life? The transfer of knowledge took place at other levels? The transition to master tailor 1)

How long did you made your internship apprentice?

At what age you became master?

3) What was the first piece of clothing you have made? Do you remember? 4) Did you reproduce models that were executed by your master, or did you created new models from what you had learned? 5) Where did you establish your first workshop? In Africa? Or you just had your own is Lisbon? The immigration 1) When did you arrive in Portugal? 2) Did you came directly to Lisbon or has been in other countries before? 3)

How many languages you speak besides the language of origins?

How did you develop your workshop?

What are your working conditions?

The clients 1)

Who are your clients? Africans? Or also western?

2) What are the main differences between clients in Africa and in Portugal? 3)

How do you feel the support system to your profession in Portugal?

And the systems of emigration?

5) They give you some useful information on how to start your work as a tailor? 6) How does you feel valorisation of your knowledge / work in Portuguese society?

Appendix G: Questionnaire about the course It was decided to elaborate a questionnaire to analyse the individual evaluation about the program. Results of this questionnaire will be analysed in 2014. VALORIZAÇÃO DA FORMAÇÃO Avaliação Individual do programa desenvolvido e sua aplicação em contexto de trabalho Resposta qualitativa 1-muito pouco | 2- pouco | 3- médio | 4-bom | 5-muito bom

MODULO 1 | Expressão Individual: Textura, cor e forma de uma peça de roupa 1. Noções básicas do desenho de roupa 2. Noções da importância da cor 3. Noções elementares acerca de tipos de tecidos 4. Capacidade de exprimir as ideias a partir do desenho 5. Utilização do desenho como tecnica de apoio no dia-a-dia do seu atelier 6. Evolução/Avaliação pessoal

MODULO 2 | Iniciação à modelagem 1. Noções de ângulos, esquadria, paralelas e perpendiculares 2. Rigor no traçado de moldes 3. Utilização e manuseio das réguas de precisão 4. Capacidade de visualização e registo gráfico de um molde bidimensional 5. Capacidade para tirar medidas de forma rigorosa 6. Calculo do perímetro de saia de roda P= 2.π.r 7. Evolução/avaliação pessoal

MODULO 3 | Modelagem vestidos 1. Noção da construção de pinças, deslocação e rotação 2. Construção dos diferentes tipos de golas 3. Construção dos diferentes tipos de mangas 4. Capacidade para desenvolver transformações de moldes 5. Utilização de moldes de papel no seu atelier 6. Utilização de tecnica mista (empírico e moldes) no atelier 7. Desenho directo de moldes no tecido 8. Evolução/avaliação pessoal

MODULO 4 | Corte 1. Noção sobre o plano de corte 2. Noção sobre a redução de desperdício de tecido no plano de corte 3. Evolução nesta disciplina 4. Evolução/avaliação pessoal

MODULO 5 | Costura 1. Noções técnicas e rigor na prática de costura 2. Exigência no rigor do acabamento da peça de roupa 3. Conhecimento sobre como costurar um vestido 4. Conhecimento sobre como costurar um casaco 5. Evolução/avaliação pessoal

MODULO 6 | Informática 1. Noções basicas de email 2. Noções basicas do facebook 3. Utilização de informatica no seu dia-a-dia 4. Evolução/avaliação pessoal

MODULO 7 | Estudo sobre tipos de fibras 1. Compreensão dos diferentes tipos de fibras 2. Aplicação deste conhecimento na pratica do atelier

De uma forma geral como considera a evolução do nivel do seu conhecimento sobre como desenvolver uma peça de roupa?

Na sua vida real qual o nível de satisfação sobre a sua profissão, a partir do momento que começou o curso?

Qual o nivel de avaliação que daria ao curso?

Qual o nivel de impacto que o curso teve no que respeita à sua inclusão na vida profissional e cidadania?

Appendix H - The script of the interviews about capulana The script of the interviews is described bellow: 51

hat does capulana mean for you? 2-

ow many capulanas do you have? 3-

ve you brought your capulanas when you left Mozambique? 4-

ho taught you how to wear a capulana? (In case of a female interviewee with children) Did you teach your daughters)? 5-

o you think that capulana tradition is threatened? If yes what are the reasons? 6-

hat is the message that you would have stamped in a capulana? 7-

What is your motivation in the purchase? The colour? By drawing? Because a friend has an equal one? The novelty in the market? Th e capulana in the Marriage and the lobolo ceremony. What does it mean for you? 8-

e capulana regarding the rituals in the event of death, why is it important?

Appendix I: Full interview to Dr Francisco Magalhães/TextÁfrica I consider this is an important interview, and one of the most complete I could achieve. The raison why I consider it is important to be registered on this report Quem produzia os desenhos de capulana ? A TextÁfrica tinha um departamento de Design, onde tinhamos artistas moçambicanos a trabalhar conosco. E mais tarde chegámos também a ter desenhadores portugueses. Parte dos desenhos estão em Maputo. Ainda hoje na India se fazem capulanas da Textafrica, reproduzindo os padrões que nós criámos. 1.

A populacão pedia novos padrões? Não . Os desenhos eram adaptados ao gosto das pessoas. Cada região de Moçambique tem o seu gosto. Por exemplo em Chimoio existe a preferencia pela cor Bordeaux, em Nampula pela tonalidade amarelo. Por exemplo a norte do Zambeze, os Maometanos nao usam rostos de pessoas nas roupas, por isso nao se vendiam as capulanas de propaganda por exemplo. Os desenhos eram experiemntados no mercados, às vezes de dez desenhos lançados só um vingava e se tornava popular. Assim era o ritmo da moda. A textafrica vendia aos comerciantes e esses traziam-nos a informação dos padrões que se popularizavam e dos padrões que nao vendiam. 2.

O algodão da Textàfrica era produto interno ou importavam de outros países? A Textafrica foi mandada construer por Salazar eopera desde 1954 . Era uma empesa vertical todo o processo da plantação do algodão Ao seu processamento era assegurado internamente. Somente a partir de 1994 começamos a importer algodão do Zimbabwe. 3.

Quais as técnicas de estampagem utilizadas? Os tintos …

Em 1968 estampava-se com tecnica de quadros .era uma tecnica manual e os quadros mediam 120 por 80 cm. Mais tarde substituiram-se por rolos com desenho que repete de 900 em 900 mm e 640 em 640 mm (para as capulanas) e de 480 em 480 mm para os lenços. No Norte as capulanas mediam 1,63 por 1m No Sul as capulanas mediam 1,90 por 1,20. Esta diferença deve-se à fisionomia das etnias, as mulheres no Norte são mais baixas que os povos no Sul de Moçambique. Os tintos usados eram os pigmentos, os reactivos, e os naftois (que depois foram considerados nocivos p a saude) . também faziamos a estampagem por corrosão com rolos de cobre. A ‘evolução’ da moda da capulana. O concurso de vestidos? Eram vestidos de capulana? Existem 4 tipos de capulana 5.

Capulana de pano cru, (o algodão é depois branqueado) estampada com vários motivos a cores Capulana estilo denim, tingido com indigo e reservas de cera de forma a criar os desenhos Capulana Bimbiri, que era produto feito para o mercado Angolano e compreendia Capulana Kissambi pano mais nobre tecido a partir de fios tintos a formar o debuxo xadrez. Esta capulana tinha 1.20 m de altura. A partir de 1994, a Índia começou a produzir imitações estampadas desta capulana.

O concurso de vestidos era feito nos anos 60 e essencialmente eram vestidos de Chita, também produção da TextAfrica. Tanto portuguesas como Africanas participavam. A chita diferia da capulana porque a Chita não tem moldura de remate.

Appendix J: Other activities May 13 rd : “A Ponte” Diana Manhiça and “A outra Fala” de José Augusto Nhantumbo, África no FESTin, a festa do cinema em português, Cinema S. Jorge, Lisboa. May 31st , Juin 7th, 13th e 18th: Ciclo de cinema moçambicano , Associação Solidariedade Imigrante, Lisboa and Espaço Sou. Juin 30th 37º: Aniversário da Independência de Moçambique July,14th : "Moçambicanidades Disputadas" Book Launch at Sede da Associação Solidariedade Imigrante, Lisboa