Early on Saturday morning, Trudy, Mary, Joan and I arrived in Kampala. And yesterday was our fabric shopping day. Boaz Tishekwa and his driver took us through the winding and crowded streets of the city to the fabric market. The Nalugo Traders know us from previous visits, and were not surprised by the huge purchases we made, some for the Bitengye Designers and some for Kitambaa Designs. There are at least 8 vendors crowded into one small shop, each selling a slightly different selection of fabrics. We started with Faisal, a fellow known to us from last year, and after amassing a pile of fabrics from him, and moved around the shop, buying something from everyone, from there. Then we were taken to another shop where we were successful in finding the ever-elusive black fabric, a great reason for celebration. After the shopping was finished we sat under palm and fig trees drinking cold drinks and eating a fabulous Indian meal. Tired but very happy shoppers. The days her in Kampala have also given us the opportunity to shop for an amazing number of batiks, and to make two very good contacts who are willing to help us market the items made by the Bitengye ladies.
Success of a different sort! So now we have all our supplies ready to start our second workshop with the ladies, but before that happens, we are heading north to Queen Elizabeth Park for a couple of days. I'm not sure if I'll be able to post from there or now, but I do want to let you know that I will be posting with photos as often as I can, so all of you at home who have been so supportive of this project, can follow along with what's happening. Our totes full of all your material donations all arrived safely - all eight of them. The samples we made up are in those totes too, and await our arrival in Mbarara on Thursday. So I'll be back in touch with you soon.
Early on Saturday morning, Trudy, Mary, Joan and I arrived in Kampala. And yesterday was our fabric shopping day. Boaz Tishekwa and his driver took us through the winding and crowded streets of the city to the fabric market. The Nalugo Traders know us from previous visits, and were not surprised by the huge purchases we made, some for the Bitengye Designers and some for Kitambaa Designs. There are at least 8 vendors crowded into one small shop, each selling a slightly different selection of fabrics. We started with Faisal, a fellow known to us from last year, and after amassing a pile of fabrics from him, and moved around the shop, buying something from everyone, from there. Then we were taken to another shop where we were successful in finding the ever-elusive black fabric, a great reason for celebration. After the shopping was finished we sat under palm and fig trees drinking cold drinks and eating a fabulous Indian meal. Tired but very happy shoppers. The days her in Kampala have also given us the opportunity to shop for an amazing number of batiks, and to make two very good contacts who are willing to help us market the items made by the Bitengye ladies.
Success of a different sort! So now we have all our supplies ready to start our second workshop with the ladies, but before that happens, we are heading north to Queen Elizabeth Park for a couple of days. I'm not sure if I'll be able to post from there or now, but I do want to let you know that I will be posting with photos as often as I can, so all of you at home who have been so supportive of this project, can follow along with what's happening. Our totes full of all your material donations all arrived safely - all eight of them. The samples we made up are in those totes too, and await our arrival in Mbarara on Thursday. So I'll be back in touch with you soon.
So glad to hear things are going well for you on this visit Pippa! We're having a fundraiser for you at the Lions Gate guild meeting next week - a draw for free long-arm quilting on one quilt of any size! Not sure if you knew about that yet...very exciting. I hope we raise lots of $ to support the Bitengye ladies.
ReplyDeleteGood news that you, your team and your totes are safe on the ground. Part of me envies your Kampala shopping experience, but the other practical part of me will wait until I can dive into your booth at the CQA merchant mall.
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