A
couple of years ago, I could see woman dyeing fabrics at Badalabougou
in Mali. Badalabougou is part of the capital of Mali, Bamako, and
lies opposite of the central district across the river Niger. The
work is done by women in the form of small enterprises. The dyes are
often synthetic. And might be toxic
„Traces
of chromium, vanadium, iron, aluminium and silicon were also detected
in some of the dyestuffs. Mixed effluents from two sampling sites
contained concentrations of zinc and nickel higher than WHO guideline
values for drinking water.“ Says Hanna Larsson in her thesis
„Textile dyeing in Mali - possibilities for small scale effluent
treatment“ [4]. The Niger is an important source of drinking water,
water for agriculture, wild life in an arid country. So toxic waste
is an issue. Hanna Larsson: „To find a working solution to decrease
water pollution, without threatening the livelihood for dyers,
co-operation between universities, dyers and governmental bodies is
crucial.“
The
dyed fabrics are called bazin. The dyeing women develop respiratory
illnesses because of the sulfur in the dyes, which is used to fix the
color on the fabric. The frabic is pounded on the water surface and
so dye will go into the river, but also leftover dye is cast into the
Niger. „The government’s environmental agency has had little
success in dealing with the environmental impact of hand-dyeing.“
[2]
Pictures
were taken near the Egyptian Embassy. In one picture you can see the
Bank of West Africa building, which dominated the skyline of Bamako
12 years ago.
Links
and References:
[1]
Hanna Larsson: „Textile
dyeing in Mali - possibilities for small scale effluent treatment“;
2009:02 Uppsala.
https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/594/1/larsson_h_091105.pdf
[2]
https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2012/malian-women-create-beauty-%E2%80%94-and-profit
.
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