Braghetterosse in Ethiopia
- Addis Ababa - Ethiopia
- 2011–2018
After several collaborations with UNITED NATIONS development and cooperation projects started in 2008 in Addis Ababa, BRAGHETTEROSSE decides in 2010 to try to work independently with local private companies and artisans to make handbags and small leather accessories to sell abroad mainly in Europe.
The leading objective is to proceed towards the creation of a SOCIAL BUSINESS, which aims at providing dignified work to very poor people, especially women, who are otherwise excluded from working society. In Addis Ababa there are many local, well organized, humanitarian associations who work to assist women in various essential issues: health, hygiene and social relationship (family health), vocational work training (sewing, embroidery, weaving etc.,) and home economics (acquiring and managing small savings). Vocational work training gives these women basic techniques for possibly earning a small income. Each product by BRAGHETTEROSSE is thought out to be produced in part by professionals and in part by non-professionals—assisted by local humanitarian associations—who provide some manual workmanship.
After the teaching of Prof. Muhammad Yunus creator of microcredit and Grameen Bank, this is a method for replacing charity with payment for work. Like Prof. Yunus, we believe charity is in general counter-productive towards development and independence. Moreover, through offering the western market original products, which are culturally rich and cared for in quality and design we sustain progressive values. The skin used for our accessories is mainly from sheep and goat—traditional food in the local diet-and one of the country’s wealth. Tanning of this leather has reached a very high standard and allows it to be one of the two main exported items, second after coffee.
1000 Papagoochi Baggies
The glove soft, sheep nappa, multi-use zipped pouches are a pilot project by Braghetterosse, made in Ethiopia.
The best tannery in Ethiopia—Hafde Tannery—produces the precious leather which is hand worked with tie-dye pattern in many wonderful colors: the skins are dyed once, then—for each “dot” of the pattern—a little knot is tied and the skin is dyed a second time. This is how our personalized “DOTS” design is achieved especially for Braghetterosse.
The skins are dyed with pure anillin which allows for such deep and transparent colors. The leather remains “naked” without any layer of chemicals to protect it from stains. So it will easily stain but just as easily the stain will be absorbed and eventually disappear in the natural fibers of the leather. We have witnessed they get nicer as they get older.
Girls assisted within EGISERA’—rescue project part of WID PROJECT (Women in Development) have embroidered their name and numbered each label attached inside the bags. This seemingly small contribution has great importance because it connects each girl, embroiderer in training, to the long human chain and makes the object which reaches our hands unique and special.
The baggies are manufactured by Papagoochi, artisan workshop in Addis Ababa owned by the same tannery, where the workers—mainly women—are fairly treated and fairly paid.
All zippers used for this production have been donated to us in Italy by Riri s.p.a.
