Community

Textile Totem Community

The Bogolan is a traditional handmade organic cotton fabric, woven in narrow strips, dyed with local herbs and painted with fermented mud from the Niger river in Mali. Our ancestors made clothes out of these narrow strips of cotton. All kind of symbols and patterns were painted with mud on the clothes. Patterns that were believed to have the power to absorb dangerous forces released in life-threatening circumstances. That is why our ancestors also referred to the Bogolan as ‘medicine cloth’.

Our product is a creation of many hands, beyond the Bogolan painters, it involves also the people who pick the cotton, the ginners, spinners, weavers, dyers, stitchers and wood carvers. We work in harmony with nature and each other. It is a true cooperation between men and women, young and old, North and South. Together we are One.

Our team of skilled artisans is growing steady. We teach and learn young Malian apprentices the way to create the original Malian textile art of Bogolan. An art that has been passed on from generation to generation. Our symbol language is filled with meaning to support wellbeing during our passage through life.

We learned from our ancestors and like to pass on but with a contemporary twist. Our Textile Totems are one-of-a-kind wall hangings.

Making a textile totem is a true slow art process and product. With a minimal of means we create products thats speak the language of the soul. Textile totem Community is made with love and every piece is unique. The imperfections you may find in the weaving, print designs or embroidery make the product perfect.

Each totem is packed in a Malian cotton sleeve and comes with a beautiful booklet that tells our story.