It has certainly been an interesting month here in Mikindani, and also
in Dar es Salaam. One of Trade Aid’s new ideas for Mikindani is
to start up a local group who can produce Batik T-shirts. But what is
this I hear you ask. Batik T-shirt printing is the dying of a T-shirt
with certain areas left undyed, this enables you to produce a variety
of patterns.

It was at the beginning of December that the journey up to Dar began,
at the oh so sociable hour of four o’clock in the morning. After
a back breaking sixteen hours in one of the Trade Aid Landrovers, being
bounced and battered along a Tanzanian “road” we finally arrived
in Dar Es Salaam, oh what a relief. After a day to settle in, and make
extensive use of the bar and air conditioning at the Seaman’s mission
[where we were staying] it was down to work. My brief was to look into
the process of Batik T-shirt production, and to see if it would be feasible
in Mikindani.

The Batik T-shirt printing takes place in an indoor market/shopping
centre where the products are also sold. There I met the head of the organisation
that prints the T-shirts and the head of production, who oversees the
entire process.

The process begins when the parts of the T-shirt that are not to the
dyed are covered in a special sort of wax. This can be applied through
two methods, either using a brush or a wooden print. As far as Mikindani
and the Boma is concerned it is my opinion that the print method would
be the best, as it would produce work for the local carpenters.

Once the wax has been applied and dried the T-shirt is then dyed. A
mixture of hot and cold water (17 litres) dye, caustic soda and sodium
powder are then mixed together in a stone bath. The T-shirt is then repeatedly
lifted in and out of this mixture until the dye has fully soaked into
the material. After which it is then taken out of the water and hung to
dry. The wax then has to be removed; this is done by placing the T-shirt
into a vat of boiling water, where it is then stirred around until all
of the wax has been removed. The T-shirt is then finished and can either
be worn, or more colours can be applied by using the wax to cover the
previous dyed areas and any areas that need to be left clear. This should
certainly prove to be something that Trade Aid and the Boma can make good
use of, and it should also benefit the local groups who can get involved.

For more information on the work carried out by Trade Aid in Tanzania,
see their website www.mikindani.com