Welcome to our new weekly blog post, where you will find news about Kofaya and everything to do with sustainable fashion, slow fashion, traditional Ghanaian fabrics, etc. We will always orientate ourselves on a photo and thus give you the opportunity to find your important content on our website; so have fun reading and above all spread the word!

This photo was taken in November 2018; I (Priscilla) have always loved to dress individually; my mum was already quite a well-dressed woman and inspired me a lot. So when it comes to fashion, I pretty much take after her. But it wasn’t just important to me to look stylish, no, I also wanted to express my uniqueness by not wearing the same clothes as me 🙂 So I started wearing second-hand clothes at the age of 13 because they simply had the most unique fashion.

The majority of my roots are in Ghana (my grandfather, who I never met, is from Nigeria); I travelled to the country with my mother and sister when I was 6 and 12 and then unfortunately only again when I was 29, but since then regularly and now permanently. Well, everything in its own time I would say!

In any case, one thing was clear what I love beside other things in Ghana: WAOW: I can have my tailored personalised clothes here! By a funny coincidence, a friend from Nuremberg, Peter, alias Momoshi, had already found a tailor for his project and told me about her;

So I set off to meet Genevieve. We got on well straight away and I was able to convey to her what style I wanted.

To be honest, the first few years of our collaboration before Kofaya were a little difficult. Genevieve often delivered my garments just before the deadline (e.g. she was almost on her way to the airport when she arrived) or used a different fabric than agreed without my asking or changed something in my design. Even though this happened more often, I didn’t give up working with her because she usually did a good job technically and, as a trained educator and social pedagogue, I wanted to understand how I had to commission something so that it would turn out the way I wanted in a business service relationship.

So I kept at it!

Until today:)

The question kept me first busy until 2022: How can it be possible for Germans and Ghanaians to work together as equals? I didn’t want to patronise them, I didn’t want to make them feel bad, I didn’t want to appear as if I knew everything better! Difficult in a customer and manufacturer relationship espiacally in colonized mechanisms! That’s why I kept at it.

And during a trip April 2023 in Ghana, I still remember it today, it occurred to me.

The scenario: I was with a friend in Butre at the Fanta Follys Lodge and a thunderstorm came up; one that I had never seen on a beach before. Really badass! The sky turned black, the wind got stronger and stronger; some coconuts fell from the palm trees and some loose leaves went into the clouds! It started to rain – no, it poured from buckets! We quickly ran into the room and waited – the power went out!

And while I lay on the bed and looked out of the window into the crazy storm, I thought: how can I work with Genevieve so that we both feel comfortable? How can I support her so that she has enough income to live on? How can more Germans in general benefit from services from Ghana?

And tadaaaa: there was the idea: we need a training center where resources can be trained to be able to play on the international market! And the clothes we should sew for our income during the trainee time???

Unique Second-hand Fashion blended with stunning Ghanaian fabrics!

It felt mind blowing! My brain lit up, I felt, and I was filled with happiness! It was like something clicked and everything was clear – I knew what to do! Let the journey begin….

Love & Peace

Priscilla/Nanayaa