They are symbols of beauty in Africa that in recent years have found a place on international catwalks and are used by thousands in the West. The African wax print fabrics with their amazing colours have been used by some of the most prestigious fashion companies to adorn their collections, while Karité (Shea butter), a 100% natural cellular regenerator that comes from the tree of the same name -which grows on the plains of the Sub Saharan countries such as Mali and Sudan- is very popular in the cosmetics industry.

Going beyond the aesthetic and commercial filters, which the West holds dear, the traditional African fabrics and natural products such as the Karité – an ancestral product- have hidden angles, meanings and symbolisms unkown to Europe, which Rototom Sunsplash will share with the audiences in the African Village in workshops that will be facilitated by African design Project Farafina together with the other collectives. They will be on August 16 (History of wax print fabrics, 15:30) and August 18 (Karité, beauty from Africa, 15:30). Both activities will end with an African fashion show and live music (19:00).

In the first talk/workshop we will discover the nut of the Shea tree (which produces its greatest harvests after 50 years) which is made into a vegetable butter for domestic use and is also used to heal scars and as sunscreen, and we will get a look Shea ceremony. The second talk will help us to decipher the language of traditional African fabrics. Fabrics with prints that contain many keys to understanding the social and cultural history of the different sub-Saharan countries, and that in their colours and shapes conceal religious, political and educational messages. In reality what they conceal I African creative genius.