Ugandan Bark Cloth - exhibition under UNESCO patronage - English version

This exhibition took place in Jan.2011 under the patronage of the German Commission for UNESCO on Heimtextil Frankfurt - the world's largest fair for textiles.

Tree bark fleece from Uganda is said to be the most ancient textile in the history of humanity. Until the end of the 19th century, the most precious bark clothes have exclusively been reserved for the monarchs of the nearly millenial kingdom of Buganda. In 2005, UNESCO declared the artisan production process of bark cloth a "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage", followed by its admission to the list of Immaterial World Cultural Heritage in 2008. Bark cloth is grown time. Take time and experience here and now, how traditional bark cloth is exquisitely handcrafted! Each cloth is a unique specimen with its own story.

The Ugandan-German family venture BARK CLOTH^® is pioneer of systematic bark cloth development and production and dedicated to the continuing cooperation with small-scale organic farmers from Uganda -- since 1999. The permanently renewable bark of the East African "Mutuba" fig tree is harvested every year without felling the tree. It is the basis for a wide range of textiles and composites, which are manufactured in low-energy, partly CO2-emission-free processes. They are distributed under the brand name of BARKTEX^®. Designers value the expressive character, unique texture and sensual tactility of BARKTEX^® materials. For its efforts, BARK CLOTH^® has been honoured with a number of internationally recognized industrial awards for material engineering, design, and social innovation.
The former development partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ, formerly GTZ) GmbH, which has been implemented within the framework of the programme "develoPPP.de" of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) provides now hundreds of craftswomen and farmer families with a secure income.