Flame Lily: Exotic Knitwear with a Conscience
by Carrie Barclay

Picture the scene… A mission called Bondolphi, south of Masvingo in southern Zim-babwe. An outdoor church shaded from the hot Zimbabwean sun by luscious fig trees. A group of women laugh and work alongside each other whilst their children play nearby.

When you envision an African factory, this probably isn’t the first image that springs to mind. Yet this is the realisation of a dream for Christine Garnett, Zimbabwean by birth, British by culture and Canadian by marriage. Christine set up her exclusive designer knitwear company, Flame Lily, in 1999 and, despite the atrocious economic situation in Zimbabwe, the company is going strong. The company produces exquisite jumpers, dresses, scarves and bedspreads, all from this idyllic outdoor setting. The church location is rented from a community of Nuns that have been running a clinic, school and orphanage in the area for over 50 years.

Visiting her team of over 80 workers every 4 months, Christine, a tribal member herself, says she finds it easy to fall into the cultural norms of the African tribes, and feels that these traditional dictum’s create an atmosphere of respect, love and productivity that you would be hard pushed to find anywhere else. The financial security that Flame Lily has created for its workers and their dependents (an average of 12 other people rely on the income of each worker) is something hard to find in a country ravaged by an 85% unemployment rate and inflation that has ascended into the tens of thousands.

Flame Lily’s amazing work ethic doesn’t stop at the treatment of their workers. Unlike many companies in this day and age, Flame Lily is entirely owned by its founder and designer, Christine. Christine and her team plant much of the organic cotton themselves, hand-dye it, and then knit everything completely by hand – their tools are knitting and sewing needles and nothing else, no machinery is used at all. The deliciously sumptuous and stylish knitwear is then imported to the UK where Flame Lily has an exclusive boutique in Oxfordshire, and has been shown in New York and Toronto.

There are so many wonderful and inspirational anecdotes attached to this fair trade, ethically sound, organic and culturally aware organisation. Following traditional Zimbabwean work practices, the local witch is summoned to sniff each batch of cotton for evil spirits, and Christine claims that this ritual helps as the workers visibly relax and become one with their craft. Incredibly, some men have taken on the role of child minder, in a real break from cultural norms, in order to allow their wives the chance to be more productive!

In these times of trouble, it is wonderful to meet someone so determined to produce beautiful high-end products whilst ensuring that the safety, happiness and financial security of her workers is always at the top of the agenda.

For more information visit www.flame-lily.com

africa, bondolphi, christine garnett, designer, fashion, flame lily, masvingo, orphanage, unemployment, zimbabwe