* Please note that these mirrors are unique, handmade pieces; there may be some differences between the item you receive and the one shown in this photograph.
For this range of items made from Madagascar in recycled sheet metal, KABAMBÎ works with PASSER’AILES, an importer partnering with the Atelier d’Ankazobe, which is situated amongst the rice fields, just a few minutes from the centre of Antananarivo. The workshop has been growing at its own pace for the past ten years, at the heart of a wholly Malagasy environment. Its priority is to provide work and training to those who need it most. The items produced there are made entirely by hand.
Who is PASSER’AILES?
Passer'ailes is a company of solidarity tradecreated in 2004 in Gironde, to promote and distribute the creations of Madagascar's tinsmiths.
Passer'ailes does not intervene in the management of the workshop. It then takes over to establish the link to the outside world and broaden the horizons of Malagasy craftsmen. In Francethrough a light structurePasser'ailes fits its commercial offer to the fluctuating production capacity of the workshopIt makes its partners aware of this constraint.
The distribution of the products respects the rules of fair trade. «Buying fair trade» is not an act of generosity but rather a balanced trade where everyone, craftsmen and consumers, can find their place. On this condition, the exchange will be sustainable and will bring the hope of a real development for the craftsmen. Passer'ailes tightly controls its costslimits intermediaries, and is committed to the fair payment the work of each individual to ensure that the prices of the objects remain in line with their manufacturing cost. Its commercial margins are established.
KABAMBî adheres to Passer’Ailes« operating principles and complies with the recommended prices, which Passer’Ailes considers to be »ethically sound’.
A showcase for the know-how and creativity of these craftsmen who are forging a more dignified daily life with their hammers, Passer'ailes invites encounters by building a bridge between two worlds that time has separated.
ANKAZOBE’S WORKSHOP:
Violette and Dieudonné, a Madagascan couple who inherited the family tinplate businessThey have developed this project, brick by brick, to counteract misery and despair. They refuse fatality and have imagined a workshop, a place to live, where each worker can find a decent life. Today, 400 men and women have made a life for themselves here. Here, there is no assembly-line work, no sophisticated tools; we work on the ground and learn alongside one another, whilst always retaining the freedom of our hands.
Everyone finds their placeThey are all there, regardless of their skills, age or disability. Mothers with their babies, older women, deaf-mute adults, young delinquents, each one is concentrated on his or her task, but the looks we see radiate the same smile, that of rediscovered dignity. Crouched down among the workers, Violette explains, adjusts, organizes the work.
Dieudonné, surrounded by a few attentive craftsmen, draws ambitious projects on the red earth.
The wind that pushes this Noah's Ark draws its strength from mutual support and solidarity. The project is not limited to shaping iron; it also supports the workers« lives: »We need to get a grip on everyday life, so that everyone can work in peace,” says Dieudonné. So, in the middle of the tools, we organized a canteen and a solidarity grocery store, to feed ourselves and our families better.
But the pride of all is the small school built in the middle of the reclaimed rice field. Around a hundred children are learning to read and write in five immaculately kept classrooms. «One day here,» says Dieudonné with a smile, “we’ll build a secondary school!”
A true and beautiful story… told by each and every item from Passer’Ailes/Atelier d’Ankazobé!
