Bogolan Training

A volunteer in the village of Diola asked Koro to train a Women’s Association to make Bogolan. The Women’s Association takes in children who have become orphans because of AIDS. In the last year Koro has taken a training to expand her bogolan skills and now she would have the opportunity to train others.

When I first proposed this to Koro she seemed nervous this was a big step for her.

The bogolan business was booming so when the time came to prepare for the training it became more than we had bargained for. Koro had been offered 10.000 cfa a day for seven days, transportation to and from Diolla as well as room and board while she was at the training. This was a good income for Koro. She just needed to come up with a supplies and materials budget. This was not as easy as you would think. The mud which is the main dying compound needs fermenting for a long period of time in a large pot. Koro has had her pot fermenting mud for longer than I have known her. Most of the dying materials are natural plants.

We arrived in Diola with rice sacks full of plants, bark, and fabric along with paint brushes, plastic gloves, stencils, and everything Koro needed for the formation. Koro stayed with Nako the woman who runs the NGO that sponsored the training and I stayed with a fellow Peace Corps volunteer. I don’t know about Koro but I was nervous about how it was going to go. Koro and I mostly visit her family we don’t go into situations where things are not familiar.

At the start of the first day all my worries were over the women showed up enthusiastic. The big surprise for me was how much I learned and I watch bogolan being made every day. Koro started out making designs freehand going through all the color processes then moved into stencil work with applying the color white as the grand finale. We ate together, danced to gather, and made bogolan together and so much more.

At the closing ceremony the Mayor the Dugitigi, several NGO’s came and were presented with some bogolan material that the women made. Koro and I made many new friends. We contacted a woman who does trainings on how to make soap which will be my next project if I can squeeze it before I leave.