Over the past weeks, we have worked hard to test our model. Can we produce clothing fully made in Uganda?
We think you can see for yourself! The production of this collection also led to some major sights into how to set up the Waya model which is described below.
All of the above products have been made in Uganda, most of them use Ugandan fabric made from Ugandan cotton. The models who present the pieces are Faith Mirembe, Lincoln Axarya, and Dorothy.
During the production process, we worked with multiple types of producers, fabrics, and instruction templates to best understand how the Ugandan textile industry works. We visited fabric producers in Uganda and other East African countries, used their fabric, and worked with small-scale tailor shops to produce the products using standardized instructions. During that process, we found out that it is indeed possible to produce modern and high quality clothing fully made in Uganda with resources that are available already. However, we also found out that small-scale tailor shops can not produce at scale with the same efficiency and constant quality like a factory can.
This experience majorly contributed to the way we designed the model and the concept of the optimal degree of decentralization (ODD). Waya is as much about decentralization as it’s about efficiency and producing competitive products. That’s why the factories that Waya is going to build should be local and decentralized, but only to a degree that doesn’t hurt efficiency.
