What do you do when a rainforest needs protecting and the people who live beside it need paying work? In northeastern Madagascar, a conservationist and an entomologist answered with cloth. Farmers plant native trees for endemic silkworms to feed on, and the cocoons are spun into wild silk. Raffia followed, dyed with the leaves of Harungana madagascariensis, the dragon's blood tree, which turns the fibre blue-grey or near black depending on how long it soaks. This is Tanana, and we are delighted to welcome their Harungana collection to the Selvedge Artisan Goods shop.
Above: Harvesting Raphia farinifera in the Makira rainforest. Below: Handweaving the fibres.
The fibre is Raphia farinifera, a palm native to northeastern Madagascar, loom-woven by hand with techniques that Betsimisaraka elders have passed down in villages around the Makira rainforest. The raffia is strong and durable, and because every length is woven by hand, texture and structure shift subtly across a piece, following the rhythm of the loom.
Above: A dye pot surrounded by the leaves of Harungana madagascariensis, the dragon's blood tree. Below: Tanana 'Manidina' Take Wing Runner.
Colour is where the dyer's judgement comes in. The dragon's blood leaves yield deep dark and blue-grey tones, and the shade of each piece is set by how long the raffia is immersed, so variation becomes part of the character of the cloth. Some pieces are relief-dyed to reveal patterns drawn from the island's endemic species. Firewood stays in the forest thanks to locally made energy bricks of invasive water hyacinth bound with banana glue.
Conservationist Rachel Kramer and Malagasy entomologist Mamy Ratsimbazafy lead the studio with textile artist Lalaina Raharindimby, alongside 21 artisans and technicians and a wider network of village farmers, who have planted more than 80,000 native trees since 2009.
We were pleased to speak with Lalaina Raharindimby and Rachel Kramer about all of it in a Five Minutes with a Friend interview. Our conversation follows below:
Five Minutes with a Friend: Lalaina Raharindimby and Rachel Kramer, Tanana
Rachel Kramer and Lalaina Raharindimby, Tanana
What is your earliest memory of a textile?
Lalaina: My earliest memory of a textile is rooted in the forest, finding the silk cocoon that no one knew the value of. And also when I realised that the art of weaving. The master in our area is already over 85 years old, it taught. me that craft is a living thing that we must protect
Rachel: My mother lived in Madagascar sixty years ago. When she left, she carried with her a litsiro rice winnowing basket handwoven from reeds and stitched with raffia. That basket is my earliest memory of a textile. To this day, my daughters carry it with them to gather fruits and flowers in the garden.
How would you describe what draws you to textiles and the world of making?
Lalaina: I am drawn to textiles because they sit at the intersection of nature and biodiversity. Making a textile is my way of preserving a story of the silk cocoon and raffia by turning them into something that we can touch and wear.
Rachel: As a conservationist and a mother, I’m drawn to things that not only bring beauty into the world, but also strengthen resilience. Nothing embodies those values better than Betsimisaraka raffia cloth. Weaving raffia keeps a disappearing cultural art alive; cultivating raffia palms keeps the forest relationship alive. The act of weaving in northeastern Madagascar is thus a part of something larger. When people plant raffia to sustain traditional and contemporary craft, they help sustain the palm itself.
Where do you feel most inspired to work?
Lalaina: When I create textile, I go around the garden or the forest and look for something that gives me inspiration.
What has sparked your imagination or inspired you recently?
Lalaina: Recently, the forest and ocean give me the most inspiration.
Rachel: Taking an ecological lens when thinking about the origins of textiles always sparks my imagination. In Madagascar, seeds of the native raffia palm, Raphia farinifera, are encased in extraordinary, armored cones, as large as the palm of your hand. There’s no living lemur or bird that’s large enough to disperse them. They fall beneath a parent palm and germinate there, or travel only as far as flowing water can carry them. Paleoecologists believe Madagascar’s raffia evolved alongside extinct megafauna like giant lemurs that served as vital seed dispersers long ago. Without those ancient giants, people are the palm’s key to survival. I think that’s one fascinating part of the Tanana Madagascar woven raffia collection. The weavings aren’t simply a new expression of an old craft, they’re a living cycle of people, plants, knowledge, and place.
Tanana, 'Miolakolaka' Chevron Runner. Features a contemporary pattern developed by Tanana artisans.
What is your most treasured textile, and what story does it carry?
Lalaina: All of the textiles from silk cocoon and raffia that we have made are my treasures, because all of them are unique for me and make a connection with nature.
Rachel: Twenty years ago, I lived in a Betsimisaraka village in Madagascar’s coastal northeast. I awoke each morning to the gentle sound of rice being pounded, grains falling against the winnowing basket edge. Women taught me that the litsiro was a most valuable object - used to winnow rice, to collect edible leaves, to carry fish. Many treasure traditional textiles for their value as ornaments. But the pieces I value the most have functions that transcend time and inspire memories.
Where did you first learn your craft, and who shaped your early approach to making?
Lalaina: I learned craft from my mother. She has made tablecloths and curtains and since I was 10 years. Now, I often make little napkins and do embroidery.
Is there a piece of music you return to while you work, that sets the rhythm of your making?
Lalaina: When I work, I really want peace and calm to have my inspiration.
Rachel: I don’t create textiles. I create opportunities for Malagasy artisans to live by their craft and to regenerate nature in one of the world’s most imperilled places for biodiversity. It’s silent work that lies behind every Tanana Madagascar textile. The song, “Putting it together” by Stephen Sondheim, often comes to mind. ‘Art isn’t easy.’
What material or technique are you currently experimenting with or curious to explore further?
Lalaina: The technique that I really want to learn is the echo print system. I already try to make it with our textiles but I did not get a result. After that, I would like to learn the weaving technique that a big weaver uses to make their nice tapestries.
Rachel: Bringing this collection to life is the first time Lalaina and I have worked with the artisan team to build an entire series around a single natural dye. Even as a non-artisan, I find the dynamism of Harungana ‘dragon’s blood tree’ natural dye fascinating. The shade and intensity of colour conveyed by Harungana leaves is different from the shade conveyed by its bark and sap. Pruned leaves dye raffia blue-grey to black, depending on how long the strands are immersed in a dye bath. The bark and sap of the same tree will dye raffia a radically different colour–bright yellow. Our artisans use only the leaves to avoid harming the tree. Hence, a black and natural collection.
Tanana, 'Miaraka' Together Runner. The raffia is sourced directly from local farmers who sustainably prune the palms and contribute to the restoration of native raffia and Harungana trees in rainforest-bordering landscapes.
If you could collaborate with any maker—past or present—who would it be, and why?
Lalaina: If I could collaborate with anyone, I would say ATENAS MORALES. She creates highly experimental handwoven tapestries and art using echo-printing and natural dye.
Rachel: Every day is a gift supporting Lalaina and the talented artisans behind our textiles.
What does a perfect day of making look like for you?
Lalaina: For me, on a perfect day of making, I have lots of energy, wake up naturally, and feel completely rested. Then you imagine a new design during your sleep that you really want to focus on!
Rachel: I often think of the poet, Mary Oliver, and her question, ‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’ For me, it’s this. Elevating talented artisans in northeastern Madagascar. Running a shared social enterprise. And scaling our beautiful non-profits. It brings the greatest joy.
. . .
Further Information:
Discover the Tanana collection in the Selvedge Artisan Goods shop
. . .
Image Credits:
Lead: Madagascar, Tanana, 'Fiainana' Life Runner. Handwoven in raffia, rooted in the Betsimisaraka weaving tradition of Madagascar. Its pattern represents the connection between lives, while rich dark and blue-grey tones are created by immersing the raffia threads in natural dye baths for varying lengths of time.
All further images as credited in captions.