Planning the CRAFT training for 15 VSLA groups in Namutumba Innovation Agriculture
Today in Namutumba 🌱
We began the day meeting with the NIA NGO committee, discussing progress, challenges, and the next steps as the organization continues to grow into its new structure. The leadership and commitment of the local team remain the true engine of this work.
From there, we visited several farms and saw thriving pineapple and banana crops — tangible evidence of long-term investment in training, resilience, and community-driven agriculture. Seeing the fields flourish is always a powerful reminder of what steady partnership can achieve.
We also met with two VSLA groups. The discipline, solidarity, and confidence of the women continue to inspire us. These savings groups are not only financial mechanisms — they are spaces of belonging, leadership, and collective strength.
Finally, we arrived with our craft training team to begin researching local materials, existing skills, and possibilities for building a new training program. The goal is to create additional income streams while strengthening cultural knowledge and creativity within the community.
Resilience is built step by step — in fields, in meetings, in shared ideas, and in women sitting together planning their future.
More soon from Namutumba.
We began the day meeting with the NIA NGO committee, discussing progress, challenges, and the next steps as the organization continues to grow into its new structure. The leadership and commitment of the local team remain the true engine of this work.
From there, we visited several farms and saw thriving pineapple and banana crops — tangible evidence of long-term investment in training, resilience, and community-driven agriculture. Seeing the fields flourish is always a powerful reminder of what steady partnership can achieve.
We also met with two VSLA groups. The discipline, solidarity, and confidence of the women continue to inspire us. These savings groups are not only financial mechanisms — they are spaces of belonging, leadership, and collective strength.
Finally, we arrived with our craft training team to begin researching local materials, existing skills, and possibilities for building a new training program. The goal is to create additional income streams while strengthening cultural knowledge and creativity within the community.
Resilience is built step by step — in fields, in meetings, in shared ideas, and in women sitting together planning their future.
More soon from Namutumba.
As part of the Bark Cloth Visiting Course in Kampala, Shenkar students stepped out of the studio and into hands-on learning with local craft women from the Ugandan Artisans Associations.
During a palm leaf weaving workshop organized by Mr. Bruno Serunkuma, students learned traditional techniques directly from master artisans — experiencing material knowledge that lives in hands, rhythm, and community.
The session was more than a craft activity. It was an exchange of skills, stories, and perspectives. Working side by side, Israeli and Ugandan participants explored how traditional knowledge can inform contemporary design practice.
Moments like these remind us that meaningful innovation grows from listening, humility, and collaboration.
Thank you to the Ugandan Artisans Associations and Mr. Bruno Serunkuma for opening your space and sharing your expertise.
#BarkCloth #DesignExchange #CraftKnowledge #UgandanArtisans #CrossCulturalLearning #CoCuDi #Shenkar #MakerereUniversity
During a palm leaf weaving workshop organized by Mr. Bruno Serunkuma, students learned traditional techniques directly from master artisans — experiencing material knowledge that lives in hands, rhythm, and community.
The session was more than a craft activity. It was an exchange of skills, stories, and perspectives. Working side by side, Israeli and Ugandan participants explored how traditional knowledge can inform contemporary design practice.
Moments like these remind us that meaningful innovation grows from listening, humility, and collaboration.
Thank you to the Ugandan Artisans Associations and Mr. Bruno Serunkuma for opening your space and sharing your expertise.
#BarkCloth #DesignExchange #CraftKnowledge #UgandanArtisans #CrossCulturalLearning #CoCuDi #Shenkar #MakerereUniversity
The 2026 Bark Cloth Collaborative Workshop has successfully concluded in Kampala.
For eight immersive days, students from @textile_shenkar College and @makerere University worked together in a cross-cultural design studio exploring bark cloth as a contemporary material. Through field visits, artisan workshops, and intensive prototyping, six mixed teams developed innovative 3D bark cloth products inspired by botanical forms, folding systems, and structural experimentation.
The workshop strengthened academic partnership, deepened material research, and built meaningful human connections across cultures.
Thank you to all partners and supporters who made this exchange possible.
#BarkCloth #DesignExchange #MakerereUniversity #Shenkar #CrossCulturalDesign #CoCuDi
For eight immersive days, students from @textile_shenkar College and @makerere University worked together in a cross-cultural design studio exploring bark cloth as a contemporary material. Through field visits, artisan workshops, and intensive prototyping, six mixed teams developed innovative 3D bark cloth products inspired by botanical forms, folding systems, and structural experimentation.
The workshop strengthened academic partnership, deepened material research, and built meaningful human connections across cultures.
Thank you to all partners and supporters who made this exchange possible.
#BarkCloth #DesignExchange #MakerereUniversity #Shenkar #CrossCulturalDesign #CoCuDi
🌿✨ Rediscover “Bark Cloth Production in Uganda” ✨🌿
A few years ago we had the privilege of sharing a story that’s close to our hearts — the documentary “Bark Cloth Production in Uganda”, directed by @mrs.sengendo Doreen Namatovu. 📽️ This film takes you deep into a centuries-old craft where knowledge, skill, and culture come together around the making of bark cloth — a material rooted in history, community and sustainability.
From the harvesting of Mutuba tree bark to the meticulous pounding and beating that transforms it into cloth, this documentary celebrates not just an ancient technique, but the people who keep it alive — passing skills to younger generations with care and pride.
Bark cloth is more than a textile — it’s a living cultural heritage, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, cherished for both its traditional uses and its potential today in sustainable and creative practices.
If you haven’t seen it yet — or if it’s been a while — this is a moment to revisit and reflect on the beauty and resilience of this craft. 🌍❤️
🎥 Watch it again — https://youtu.be/U6jfB9SWRLU?si=xU7LkaCskIqLNLNd!
#BarkCloth #Documentary #CulturalHeritage #Uganda #sustainabletextiles
A few years ago we had the privilege of sharing a story that’s close to our hearts — the documentary “Bark Cloth Production in Uganda”, directed by @mrs.sengendo Doreen Namatovu. 📽️ This film takes you deep into a centuries-old craft where knowledge, skill, and culture come together around the making of bark cloth — a material rooted in history, community and sustainability.
From the harvesting of Mutuba tree bark to the meticulous pounding and beating that transforms it into cloth, this documentary celebrates not just an ancient technique, but the people who keep it alive — passing skills to younger generations with care and pride.
Bark cloth is more than a textile — it’s a living cultural heritage, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, cherished for both its traditional uses and its potential today in sustainable and creative practices.
If you haven’t seen it yet — or if it’s been a while — this is a moment to revisit and reflect on the beauty and resilience of this craft. 🌍❤️
🎥 Watch it again — https://youtu.be/U6jfB9SWRLU?si=xU7LkaCskIqLNLNd!
#BarkCloth #Documentary #CulturalHeritage #Uganda #sustainabletextiles
As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect with gratitude and determination.
This year, CoCuDi continued to stand alongside communities and partners, strengthening resilience through shared knowledge, creativity, and long-term collaboration.
🌱 In Namutumba, Uganda, our agricultural and VSLA (Village Savings and Loan Associations) program continued to support women-led savings groups, sustainable farming practices, and community resilience—building everyday economic security from the ground up.
🎓 Through our Art Academies Exchange, we deepened the partnership between Israel and Uganda, preparing for the second Shenkar College visiting course with Makerere University—an ongoing dialogue between material research, design, and local knowledge.
🧵 Alongside this, we continued developing Pando, our international creative platform supporting women-led craft and cultural entrepreneurship. 2025 was a year of groundwork, learning, and redesign—laying strong foundations toward a hopeful launch in 2026.
Thank you to our partners, communities, students, and supporters for walking this path with us. We move into the coming year committed to dialogue, care, and shared growth.
✨ Onward to 2026.
#CoCuDi #CommunityResilience #VSLA #Namutumba #ArtAcademiesExchange #Pando #SharedGrowth
This year, CoCuDi continued to stand alongside communities and partners, strengthening resilience through shared knowledge, creativity, and long-term collaboration.
🌱 In Namutumba, Uganda, our agricultural and VSLA (Village Savings and Loan Associations) program continued to support women-led savings groups, sustainable farming practices, and community resilience—building everyday economic security from the ground up.
🎓 Through our Art Academies Exchange, we deepened the partnership between Israel and Uganda, preparing for the second Shenkar College visiting course with Makerere University—an ongoing dialogue between material research, design, and local knowledge.
🧵 Alongside this, we continued developing Pando, our international creative platform supporting women-led craft and cultural entrepreneurship. 2025 was a year of groundwork, learning, and redesign—laying strong foundations toward a hopeful launch in 2026.
Thank you to our partners, communities, students, and supporters for walking this path with us. We move into the coming year committed to dialogue, care, and shared growth.
✨ Onward to 2026.
#CoCuDi #CommunityResilience #VSLA #Namutumba #ArtAcademiesExchange #Pando #SharedGrowth
