José Hendo

In May, we welcomed José Hendo as our guest speaker. It was impossible not to be infected by her passion and enthusiasm for ethical, sustainable fabrics and especially her fabric of choice, barkcloth.

© José Hendo

Barkcloth is from her country of origin, Uganda, and José feels it is the perfect ambassador for sustainability. To illustrate its beauty and versatility, José brought along a number of outfits, including the one she was wearing, bags, and other examples from her collection.

© José Hendo

We learned about the history of barkcloth, how it is cultivated and harvested, and how it is transformed into fabric. Using barkcloth creates sustainable jobs in Uganda and the Mutuba tree, from which barkcloth is harvested, is important to the ecosystem and community. Through Bark To The Roots (B2TR), José has connected with the barkcloth making communities in Uganda where she has adopted a tree and planted the 1st in the 1 million tree planting campaign.

José brought with her the Jubileo barkcloth harvested by Paul Katamiira (in honour of the King of Buganda's 25th anniversary. We were amazed to see the this beautiful whole cloth harvested from a single tree.

© José Hendo

José also spoke passionately about her quest to ensure her own label adheres to the principles of R3 – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – and of zero waste. So impressed was one of our members that she awarded José The Fiona Medal for Services to Upcycling, designed by Karen Long and made by Fiona.

© José Hendo