For the past four years, I've spent time inside workshops across West Africa, watching how education, power, and creativity all live inside these spaces at once. It changed how I see teaching, making, and craft itself.
One of those spaces is the African batik workshop in Accra where our textiles are made.
Today, we're excited to share that Ngande Textiles is officially partnering with Waxin Textiles, an African batik-making workshop based in Accra, to open that space to you.
More Than Making
This experience goes beyond producing a piece of fabric to take home. You'll spend a day, or more, immersed in the full practice: the history behind West African resist-dyeing, the technique itself, and time alongside makers who've spent decades perfecting this craft.
You'll learn:
- The history of batik and resist-dye traditions across West Africa, and how they connect to the piece you'll make
- The technique, hands in the wax, guided directly by master makers at Waxin Textiles
- The context, what it means to learn inside a working studio
This is an apprenticeship, compressed into the time you have with Waxin Textiles and Ngande Textiles.
Why Accra, Why Now
My own understanding of batik didn't come from a book. It came from standing in this exact workshop, watching a master's hands move faster than I could follow, and slowly being let into the process myself. Apprenticeship, patronage, embodied training; all the things I now research, I first understood by living inside them.
That's the experience we're building for you, formalized, with a trusted partner on the ground who's been doing this work for years.
Waxin Textiles brings decades of technique and a working studio in Accra. Ngande Textiles brings the scholarship, the storytelling, and the structure to make this accessible to visitors coming from outside West Africa. Together, we're building something neither of us could offer alone: a space where you don't just learn a technique; you step into the whole institution that produces it.
Coming Alone or Bringing a Group?
Whether you're coming as an individual or bringing a group, we're building this experience around who's coming.
Email hello@ngandetextiles.com and let's talk dates, group size, and what you're hoping to get out of the time.
FAQ section:
A few things people have been asking:
How much does this cost?
Pricing depends on group size, length of stay, and what you're hoping to get out of the experience, so we work it out with each group individually rather than posting a flat rate. Email us and we'll put together options based on what you need.Is lodging included?
Lodging isn't included. You're responsible for arranging and covering your own accommodations in Accra, though we're happy to point you toward areas or options that work well for past visitors once we're in touch.How long is the experience?
As little as a day, or several days for a deeper, fully immersive stay, it's built around you.
