fbpx

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Eco-Friendly Barkcloth

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Eco-Friendly Barkcloth

10 of 13

Barkcloth making is a centuries-old tradition in Uganda and landed Uganda on UNESCO’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which protects forms of creative expression from different cultures. Several incidents in history have caused a decline in barkcloth making, and the few craftsmen who can still make the product are being forced to take up other jobs. However, several organizations and individuals have taken it into their own hands to re-popularize barkcloth, so that it can be a successful business in Ugandan communities once again — and eco-conscious designers are turning towards the green material. Here are 12 things you didn’t know about eco-friendly barkcloth.

Sources: Unesco.org, Barkcloth.blogspot.com, Leslirobertson.com, Retronovation.com,  Millinerium.wordpress.com

Flickr.com
Flickr.com

What it is

In order to make barkcloth, the craftsmen take strips of bark from the Mutuba tree, that have been soaked during the rainy season, and beaten into thin, soft sheets, which are then turned into several kinds of items. The craftsmen use wooden mallets to beat the cloth, which gives it a terracotta color.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

 

How it feels

The texture of the finished cloth has been compared to very thin leather; the texture of the pre-treated bark has been compared to thin beef jerky.

Bogele.blogspot.com
Bogele.blogspot.com

Healing the trees

Stripping trees of their bark might sound bad for the environment, but the craftsmen actually wrap the exposed trees in banana leaves, which keep the trunk moist and allows the bark to regrow.

wikimedia.org
wikimedia.org

 

How it gets its color

Bananas come into play again when it is time to color the bark. The craftsmen usually burn dried banana leaves on top of the bark, which darkens it. The ash is then removed from the bark, which is wrapped in fresh banana leaves and left to moisten over night.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

Shocking numbers

Each strip of bark is originally around 40 centimeters wide by 2.4 meters long when first removed from the tree. By the time it has been pounded with different mallets for nearly five hours, the resulting cloth is around 2.3 by 2.5 meters, which is nearly four times its original size.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

 

Who makes it

The Baganda people who live in the Buganda kingdom in south Uganda have made the cloth for over 600 years. The craft is so precious that there is traditionally a “hereditary chief craftsman,” who had that honor passed down to him, called a kaboggoza who oversees it.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

Traditional uses

The cloth is mainly worn for events like coronations, funerals, healing ceremonies, and cultural gatherings. Men and women drape the cloth around themselves in a toga fashion. Most members of the Baganda community wear the terracotta colored cloths but royalty and chiefs wear cloths that have been dyed white or black to show their status. Sometimes the Baganda people turn the cloth into mosquito screens, bedding, curtains or forms of storage.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

Its decline

After Arab traders introduced cotton to Uganda in the nineteenth century, barkcloth became less popular. In more recent years, several traditional practices were banned in Uganda, barkcloth making being one of them. These events combined have caused barkcloth making to slowly fade out.

Throughourhandsmagazine.blogspot.com
Throughourhandsmagazine.blogspot.com

 

Designer for a cause

A UK artist named Bobby Britnell and a UK shoe designer named Janet Middelton have collaborated on a project called Barkcloth to Artcloth, in which the two are using Ugandan barkcloth to make designer baby shoes. They hope to raise awareness of the declining craft and popularize it again.

alainrichertblog.tumblr.com
alainrichertblog.tumblr.com

Further preservation

In 2010 several artists and those hoping to preserve the craft launched the Renewing Material Project. The project visited several locations in Uganda, and invited local barkcloth craftsmen to display their work, along with contemporary barkcloth works from all over the world. Barkcloth pieces from designers in Germany, the UK and Netherlands were featured.

Sointovintage.blogspot.com
Sointovintage.blogspot.com

It’s popular amongst vintage lovers

Barkcloth —whether the original or modernized design — became popular in home décor in the 60s and 70s, within nuclear families. You’ll see it often in upholstery and wallpaper of nuclear homes. Today, prints like those are sold through vintage retailers.

Etsy.com
Etsy.com

Bark cloth is eco friendly

As you may have picked up from the banana-leaf-wrapping of the trees, the process for making barkcloth is much more environmentally friendly than the process for making other materials that require cutting down trees. In fact, the University of North Texas held an EcoFriendly barkcloth workshop where “eco chic” designers were invited to learn about the cloth, and how they could incorporate it into their products.