2020

Screen Printing – June 2020

The need to identify themselves as the BDF within the community became more and more of a necessity as being apart of the kitchens provided some level of protection and ability to move around in order to fulfill the tasks related to the soup kitchens. To fulfill this need, the women engaged the arts programs of Tshisimani in order to learn about silk screen printing for t-shirts. This process of handmade printing meant that the women could produce their own printing space meaning that they could always produce BDF tshirts if they needed to. This session also revolved around the importance of producing goods themselves and exploiting the creative and artisanal skills present within the group. Where some members used to be skilled textile workers others were skilled in farming and bread baking. The women discussed a way towards sharing these skills and building spaces for cottage-industries which could meet the need for employment emerging as covid-19 related retrenchments affected the entire community.