Leticia Valera, from tourist to solidarity entrepreneur (really): this is her fashion inspired by Africa

From a world of impostures, where what is said prevails more than what is done, initiatives with a truly solidary purpose suddenly arise.

That help, encourage, inspire and, on top of that, are cool.

Really.

This is the case of the ethical fashion workshops run by

, a Valencian with a degree in Humanities and Ancient History, who honors and promotes the values ​​of African women

.

With her workshops, she helps them earn a living for themselves and, ultimately, empower themselves.

Because the African woman is her, she says, "the silent human being of the African continent, but she is the strength and the backbone", Leticia tells her from Valencia.

One of the women who works in the workshops of the ONGD KassumayD.R.

The firm exclusively sells

and treated by the women who come every day from the villages around Mbour.

Gathered around the sewing machines, they make garments with a colorful African stamp, which are sold abroad on demand and whose profits go to their ONGD

, a development organization focused on improving the conditions of the premises and children's schooling. through the creation of schools, delivery of medicines, sanitary material, construction of wells, etc.

Buy and help at the same time, sew and sing.

From tourist to ethical entrepreneur

Leticia's history with Africa begins twenty years ago

.

Until there she traveled as one more tourist to learn about the benefits of a country that treasures great contrasts in geography and culture, where 22 ethnic groups and three religions coexist without any hint of guerilla between them.

As a first etymological reference to the name itself says, Senegal comes from "Sunugal" in Wolof:

(our) and

(boat), that is, all together in the same boat;

if not, it sinks.

"I always wanted to go to black Africa, when I was little I asked the Kings for black dolls and when in 2001 I saw a documentary about Senegal, that's where I went," says Leticia.

Model with a skirt from the firm Leticia ValeraD.R.

It was in this country, then quite unknown (and now a little less) where he met Mussu, Oumar's wife, the guide who accompanied the group of visitors during the journey.

She, who suffered

, transmitted to Leticia her firm determination to fight to prevent her daughters and those of the rest from having to continue enduring this cruel cultural tradition of tortuous physical and emotional consequences.

Six months after that meeting,

returned to the African country, this time with a

under her arm, inherited from a friend.

The machine was the first stone on which he built this project that, to this day, has welcomed more than one hundred African women, to whom it has given the opportunity to take off financially and offer their children access to services such as water or The education.

As Leticia Valera's friend recognized, "only good things can happen around a sewing machine".

It is therapeutic and generates a climate of recollection and complicity that helps to escape from the harshness of the day.

Unique designs, with style and history

The garments sewn by these women with perennial smiles (

) are made mainly of

, the typical fabric of the western African bowl that consists of a cotton weave with a natural dye and a wax finish, resistant and with a lot of life.

It also has others such as

, a gala fabric, and

, a very fine cotton.

View this post on Instagram

Suits, skirts, stylish accessories.

And history, of course.

Because they know that

.

It was common for women to put protest slogans on their prints, drawing, for example, caged birds on their dresses to reflect a common sentiment.

But, in addition, the fabrics were used (and still are) to tell stories: it is common to see mothers transmitting stories to their offspring through drawings.

Who needs stories on paper?

The

, which gives exclusivity to those who bet on this form of purchase.

No more than 12 meters of fabric are used for each of the garments and among the faces that have become familiar with the brand are Rossy de Palma, the journalists Marta Robles, Julia Higueras or the actresses Mabel Lozano or Miriam Díaz-Aroca.

Buying Leticia Valera's signature is paying homage to Senegalese women, giving them and their children a boost, who endure the fierceness of poverty.

It is getting closer to a little piece of the African continent and, on top of that, looking classy on the asphalt of the city.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more