About this project
Axinene Ari Vava ( pronounced a-she-neh-neh ari-va-va) 'We are the owners and we are here!' is a women's collective based on the tiny Island of Mozambique producing textiles made from scratch, with love, labour and laughter. Using natural and upcyclable materials, we develop boutique collections of textiles and products that are 'Ilha unique'. Designed and made on Ilha for all of you who carry Ilha in your hearts. From the women of Ilha to the rest of the world.
About Ilha
Mozambique Island, Ilha de Moçambique, Onhipiti or simply Ilha is a heady blend of Arabic, Persian, Indian, Swahili, Portuguese and Makhuwa cultures all wrapped up on a tiny World Heritage listed island floating in the Indian Ocean in the north of Mozambique.
The people here are the Enahara, coastal people.
Historically, Ilha was at the crossroads of the Swahili trade routes that for centuries plied the Indian Ocean with gold, glass beads, ivory, slaves, porcelain and precious fabric.
With the arrival of the Portuguese, Mozambique Island became the capital of Portuguese East Africa. But today the capital is Maputo, 1500 kms to the south and Mozambique island in all its extraordinary, crumbling grandeur has been left to languish in the tropical north.
Mozambique Island's World Heritage status provides a significant jumping off point for tourism. This, combined with the outstanding natural beauty of the marine environment, the surrounding archipelago of uninhabited islands and the rich cultural traditions, creates the fascinating enigma that is Ilha.
Every Capulana has a story
In Mozambique, Capulana (brightly coloured, printed fabric) is a part of women's everyday life. It is a symbol of strength and inherent beauty. It is integral to culture and well being. It is used in ceremonies and storytelling. It is closely linked to historical and political events. It is both practical and highly symbolic. It carries status, representations of love and an important means of communication. It represents the essence of womanhood. And particularly so in the north of Mozambique, the cynosure of Capulana. Here women, Capulana and passion go hand in hand. Throughout the country the women of the north are well known for their creative use of Capulana and are always beautifully attired, despite grinding poverty.
But tragically Capulana is only designed and manufactured outside the country. Axinene Ari Vava will design and make high value ‘Ilha unique’ pieces to be worn, to be fashioned into home wares or to be sold simply as art pieces.
Our Capulana crave rave
To facilitate economic independence, social benefits and equal access to tourism for women on Ilha through the creative, ethical and sustainable manufacture of Capulana.
Awesome Axinene Ilha Team
Our project team is the cream of the crop starting with our intergenerational group of 12 women from Ilha plus our project coordinator, seamstress and Afrodance expert Victória Januário. The team is further expanded with the marvellous and dynamic Mozambican women, Wacy Zacarias and Djamila de Sousa, the co-founders of the acclaimed ethical textile start up Karingana wa Karingana Textiles.
Karingana wa Karingana speaks to the rich tradition of story telling, the importance of oral histories passed down through generations. The all women company is committed to preserving the vibrant culture of textile production that has existed across the African continent for centuries.
The team is led by Gail Woods who in a past life worked as a Linguist in remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. Her work was dedicated to preserving, promoting and maintaining endangered languages. Gail and her colleagues worked closely with Aboriginal people to develop strategies to document language and culture; record traditional stories, ceremonies, dance, song. They formed an intergenerational community language team together with botanists, biologists and specialist arts practitioners. And incorporated film, animation, storytelling, art, design and technology to create beautiful screen prints and batiks filled with ancient Aboriginal stories.
All of this is auspiced by Ilha Blue Island Safaris, an award winning responsible tourism social enterprise based on Ilha. At the core of everything we do at Ilha Blue is localhood, sustainability, creativity and quality. We recently renovated the premises of Ilha Blue to include a tourist cafe, a workshop and meeting space and all up a welcoming, safe space for local women to work, learn, teach, create and interact with tourists.
Social impact through tourism
“Art, community, creative expression and storytelling are all essential components of tourism”
Tourism is an important economic activity on Mozambique Island but it is dominated by men.
Women are responsible for the home environment, the family, the fetching and carrying of water and as such tend to be 'hidden'. Consequently they have very little access to tourists.
This project also opens up meaningful pathways into tourism for women with the core value of creativity; making tourism relevant to women on Ilha so they can enjoy economic and social benefits from it and avoid the pitfalls that we have witnessed in other tourism destinations. Done properly, tourism values and has the capacity to strengthen traditional cultural practices; afford legitimate access to foreigners for knowledge exchange and provide opportunities to broaden women's experience of the world.
Benefits:
Economic independence for women; Promote gender equality and respect; build resilience
Create equal access for women to the tourism industry with meaningful roles
Establish and reinforce local, contemporary Ilha narratives from women’s perspectives
Ignite creativity, re-establish and expand on traditional art practices
Support an intergenerational teaching/learning model; Recognise and valorize input from older women; Enable young women and instil pride and confidence in their cultural heritage
Our Gifts for you
Muito Obrigado - Koxukhuro - Big Thanks to you
Cheeky Chaveiro. Hand made Capulana-woman keyring
Funky fridge magnet. Created by Nelsa Guambe contemporary Mozambicana artist
Micro tote. Practical hand printed Axinene bag with logo.
Mussiro experience. A zoom introduction to the art of face mask application
Ilha Blue tour. Sail away for a day on a traditional dhow to deserted islands
Axinene capulana. Gift wrapped - yet to be created, original limited edition Axinene capulana
Afrodance lesson. Project coordinator Vicky will lead you into a wild frenzy of dance and rhythm on zoom
Tufo. Schedule a personalised live zoom dance performance to celebrate your special event