Agriculture - Ginning & Spinning - Dyeing - Weaving - Sewing - Designing
Celebrating Made in Africa Organic Cotton
Organic and rain-fed cotton from West Africa is a promising medium for designers based in Africa, and can generate jobs throughout the value chain of textile and design creation. The organic cotton market continues to grow, thanks to increasing demand from brands seeking to comply with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the Fortune Business Insights report, demand for organic cotton will grow by 40% a year between now and 2028.
In the early 2000’s, NGOs (PanAfrica, Helvetas and Obepap) started programs to grow organic cotton at the request of certain farmer groups in West Africa, eager to break out of the conventional cotton-growing system. Organic cotton production quickly proved it’s capacity to generate stable incomes and improve the farmer’s living conditions and quality of life. Despite the success, organic cotton still only represents less than 1% of all West African cotton production and almost all of this production is destined for export, rather than local processing, thus depriving Africans of the corresponding added value. Local processing of locally supplied raw materials is key to an economically thriving and resilient West African economy and organic cotton can be a leader in this development.
The Rendez-Vous du Coton Bio unites all local actors involved in the organic cotton supply chain to in order to develop it’s full potential
The first edition of the Rendez-vous du Coton Bio, December 18, 2021
The first edition of the Rendez-vous du Coton Bio took place in the luscious gradens of the Villa Rose, in Bobo Dioulasso, a city that plays a central role in the history of cotton and is home to the headquarters of the Union Nationale des Producteurs de Coton du Burkina as well as the Filsah spinning mill. The program included a conference, a market of creators and producers, demonstrations and workshops as well as a fashion show with the natural setting of a Baobab and vines as a backdrop. It was a resounding success, with a larger-than-expected audience and was covered by the national radio and TV.
Objectives sought ad achieved:
boost the attractiveness of West African organic cotton,
celebrate pioneers and new players in the value chain,
launch a network of players in the organic cotton processing value chain in Africa,
federate the players in African organic cotton processing.
This meeting led to the formation of the Coalition pour la Transformation du Coton Biologique (CTCB),comprised of 20 entities, organized to ensure the availability of organic cotton for local and regional processors, and to promote the organic cotton processing activity in Africa. As a result the sales of organic cotton yarn tripled from the average of the previous four years.
The 2nd edition of the RDV du Coton Bio
will also take place in a luscious garden but this time in the capital, Ouagadougou, a crossroads for the country and the region, to reach new audiences and broaden horizons for the transformation of African Organic Cotton. The space is a tree filled oasis in the heart of the city where the Coalition has opened a showroom neighboring the social enterprise incubator La Fabrique. In the future, the RDV plans to spread its wings to other countries - in West Africa, Europe and the US to raise an international awareness for the growing and local processing of organic cotton in West Africa.
Audience and Participation
The event brings together the key actors across the organic cotton value chain, farmers, weavers, dyers, designers to raise awareness of the general public. The presentations are geared to towards attracting and educating people that have none or little prior knowledge of the subject. In the evening, a fashion show complete with well known music artists will generate excitement.
The Full Potential of Organic Cotton Farming
Recent studies in the field have revealed that there are some farmers that produce substantially more than the average organic cotton yield per hector and sometimes even surpass their conventional cotton counterparts. We will invite farmers of excellence to come and share their production methods to inspire and show the potential of organic cotton farming. Farmers from outside of West Africa, in similar climate zones, using other innovative techniques with proven positive results will also be invited to enrich the discussion.
Designers
that use locally processed organic cotton in their creations will be invited to participate in the fashion show and in a panel discussion to share their experiences and their vision for the future. Designers that are well known beyond our West African borders boost the visibility of our action worldwide, alongside local talent.
-> A few examples of designers that use the West African processed organic cotton.
Activities from 9:30h - 21h
9:30am
Discussion: The Coalition for Organic Cotton Processing: who are we?
Reports from the industry actors that make organic cotton happen
12:30 Pause for Lunch
14h
Opening of market stands and exhibition with films and educational demonstrations of local processing techniques and appropriate technology innovations.
Discussion: Organic cotton agriculture: what is the full potential? Farmers of excellence from the region and farther afield share their experiences and successful techniques
19h
Fashion show by organic cotton designers, and live concert
Partnering with the GIZ
Coalition pour la Transformation du Coton Bio was established in 2022 and had the good fortune of receiving support from the GIZ (German Cooperation) which enabled the building of a showroom in Ouagadougou and a website, a printed catalogue and training to perfect skills of it’s members in weaving, dying, sewing, pattern making, and social media communication.
Innovations to Share
In the last couple years many innovations have been developed in the organic cotton sector and will be presented in live demonstrations throughout the day.
Members Training Programs
The first Solar loom in production in Burkina Faso
A project initiatiated by a CTCB member, Xoomba, partnering with the Indian Solar loom manufacturer, Resham Sutra, The looms which triple the productivity of artisans and are mechanically simple enough to service locally, will be duplicated and distributed in Burkina Faso
The first organic T-shirt
Made in Burkina Faso
The cotton of the t-shirt has been treated with a groundbreaking technology of DNA marking so that it's origins can be easily traced throughout the life cycle of the tshirt using a simple PCR test.
The project brings together a consortium of actors:
ECOS - for communication
GEBANA - for marketing
NIKIN - for quality control and design
HAELIXA - to mark the yarn for traceablity
FILSAH and MK2T - for yarn Spinning
COTEXA - for knitwear production
XOOMBA - for dyeing and coordonation
VETPROD - for cutting and sewing
The first digital pattern making capacity is coming to life in Ouagadougou making it possible to respond to the standards of the international market and create finished products of a consistent quality.