Taking over our Instagram account as the third guest poster this week was Ghanaian designer Akosua Afriye-Kumi of handcrafted raffia bag brand AAKS.
She took us straight to the scene where her bags are made – outdoors, in the shade of a baobab tree where the raffia is twisted, dyed, dried and woven by women in the Bolgatanga region of northern Ghana.
Afriye-Kumi is passionate about ethical fashion, sustainability and how design can create employment and empowerment in Africa. Her raffia bags are a contemporary reworking of traditional West African weaving techniques. Her #DItakeover shows how she’s reviving this old craft using locally sourced natural fibres and organic dyes.
”The material we use for all our bags is Raffia. After twisting by hand we start our seasonal dying process under the magnificent boabab tree to create our @a.a.k.s handwoven bags.” #DITAKEOVER
“Before RAFFIA is dyed we twist each single strand which takes a minute on the clock ! We need about 1000 strands per medium sized bag @a.a.k.s .” #DITAKEOVER
“C O L O U R plays a huge role in the A A K S collection ! Here we are dying our twisted poles which runs lengthwise in our bag construction.” #DITAKEOVER @a.a.k.s
“Good morning to a yellow start of our Manni Canary bag in our Spring/Summer collection.” @proudharper @nomadic_citizen #DITAKEOVER Thanks for sharing. Image by Akosua of @a.a.k.s
“Our almost complete bags on its way to America soon ! We are very excited about this order.” #DITAKEOVER @a.a.k.s
“Market day today in #Bolgantanga every 3 days is market day to help with sales of crops and goods in the villages." #DITAKEOVER @a.a.k.s takes over @designindaba
“Some more dying processes in the Bolgatanga region of Ghana.” #DITAKEOVER
