Against the backdrop of a relatively low key national commemoration programme to mark Amerindian Heritage Month the privately run Sonia Noel Foundation collaborated with the young people in the Fairview Village located at Kurupukari on the Essequibo river, its titled lands located within the area housing the Iwokrama Rainforsst. It was, Sonia told Stabroek Business, an event that targeted mostly the young people of the Village and the Workshop staged by the Foundation to introduced participants to tie die techniques that seek to re-fashion already used clothing in order to provide the wearer with a new look. The idea behind the concept the Fashion Designer told Stabroek is to open up options for used clothing which the owners feel are ready for discarding.
While tie-dyeing has long been par for the course in the local fashion designing industry were taught the various ways to tie in order to acquire a range of patterning. “Merging two colors of dye on fabric to secure three colors was part of the lesson which Sonia delivered. “We encouraged the participants to walk with a used outfit which they no longer wear and be prepared to be part of the process of converting it into something “unrecognizable, but beautiful nonetheless,” Sonia said. I think that on the whole they were quite surprised at the attractive outcomes,” Sonia said.
And according to Sonia the idea of ‘remaking’ clothing through tie-dyeing is about ensuring the usable garments are not readily discarded. “I believe that clothing waste has become a major global polluter and if we can find ways of restyling and retaining some of what we throw away that would be an environmental plus. Who knows whether this might not transform itself into a major industry in the period ahead. It might also add another dimension to the already existing range of Amerindian art and craft of which we are so proud, she says. In addition to that since the interior of Guyana attracts local and international tourists this may well be one of the vehicles that help to economically empower the community,” Sonia said.
Asserting that she is committed to such undertakings Sonia says that Amerindian communities, no less than other communities across Guyana “are entitled to the kinds of exposure that provides them with the necessary tools to succeed. Confidence, “she asserted, is the cornerstone of achievement.”
The partnership between Sonia and Iwokrame commenced in October last year with the staging of her virtual Confidence Becomes You programme. Earlier this year Ms Noel visited Fairview village to conduct in-person sessions with the group.
Iwokrama’s Director of Resource Management and Training Dr. Raquel Thomas has been integrally involved in the project. The sessions with Ms. Noel, she said, were beneficial insofar as it they added an additional worthwhile experience to their social lives.
