The AMMA workshop is a little wonder, nestled amongst vegetable patches flourishing with leeks this time of year. A visitor would step into a world of bubbling pots of water brewing with madder root or eucalyptus leaves, a rich tangy smell hovering in the air, the hammering of sewing machines overheating under a woman's confident hands and the purr of the washing machine whirling colourful fabric around. It's a small room for the number of things going on at once, the atmosphere is balmy and cheerful.
AMMA (mother in Tamil) is a social enterprise run by a British couple, Josie and Warren, based in Nuwara Eliya, which employs three mothers from plantation communities on weekday mornings, when their toddlers are playing at the pre-school up the road. Chandraleka, Priyadarshini and Landt come in every morning at 9.30 on the dot with wide smiles, pull on their aprons and crack on with sewing or ironing or cutting fabric, wherever the job was left the previous day, while Josie brews the dyes.
It's astounding how many variations of colours can be extracted from food waste. Avocado stones, pomegranate skins, onion skins and tea powder, Josie has found a way to recycle waste from restaurants and cafes to dye the fabric used for her creations. It's a lengthy process and the result is unpredictable, utterly dependant on the quality of the water, the age of the waste, even the dunking of the fabric in the dye or a fly trapped in the bucket. It also means that every meter of fabric is unique, and every bag or scarf, the only one of its kind. Josie quickly realised that giving out colour samples for customers to chose from was a promise bound to go unkept, but what a pleasant surprise when an expected grey turns out lilac!
On the 'to do' list written out in the workshop is a set of 100 golden turmeric pouches for the Wunder Workshop, a food brand selling everything turmeric based in London. The process started last week with making of the bright yellow drawstrings, and Josie is now waiting for the AMMA labels to be printed in Colombo before the serious sewing begins. In the meantime, the focus has shifted to embroidery, a task I have become enthralled with. This morning we came up with the idea of embroidering the fruit, vegetable or plant used to dye the fabric on the finished product so I have been practising stitching avocados and nelli berries at home.
From what I have seen this past week, AMMA seems ready to expand. From employing more mothers to moving to a larger space, to registering as an independent NGO, to setting up a pop-up store and an online shop, Josie hopes and works hard to see AMMA bloom in 2018. For me, this little workshop has been a comforting cocoon, the opportunity to unleash my creativity and appreciate the effort that goes into producing sustainable textiles.
https://www.ammasrilanka.com
Sascha xx
