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KENYA / FISH LEATHER
STORY: KENYA / FISH LEATHER
TRT: 03:15
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 20, 27 NOVEMBER 2018, ELDORET, KITALE, NAIROBI KENYA
20 NOVEMBER 2018, KITALE, KENYA
1. Wide shot, large Nile Perch fish in cold freezer
2. Various shots, workers scrubbing and washing Nile Perch
3. Various shots, workers skinning, filleting and processing Nile Perch fish
4. Various shots, women processing raw skin in tannery
5. Various shots, skin patterns and details of processed fish leather
6. Med shot, James Ambani, CEO Victorian Foods testing strength of leather
7. SOUNDBITE (English) James Ambani, CEO-Victorian Foods:
“Fish leather is considered exotic leather, like reptile leather, and you know the reptiles are endangered. We have crocodile leather or snake leather which is endangered, but fish leather, it's a good alternative to that. You don't require “CITES”, you know, the permit that you use to export the leather for endangered animal species, you don't need that. So I think very soon, as it gains popularity, there is going to be a lot of demand for it in the market’.
27 NOVEMBER 2018, NAIROBI, KENYA
8. Various shots, finished leather products
20 NOVEMBER 2018, KITALE, KENYA
9. SOUNDBITE (English) James Ambani, CEO-Victorian Foods:
‘We have lots of finished products, we have shoes, we have jackets, belts, handbags, purses, the list is quite big. Also, the automobile world is looking at motor vehicle interior finished with fish leather, so it's growing. The demand is growing.”
27 NOVEMBER 2018, NAIROBI, KENYA
10. Med shot, Jamil Walji fitting a model with his creation of a fish leather jacket
11. Close up, Jamil Walji outfit on hanger.
20 NOVEMBER 2018, KITALE, KENYA
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Jamil Walji, Head Fashion Designer, JW Couture saying:
“I was inspired actually to create garments with it, infuse our local fabric, the leso, together with the fish skin and the European materials. I wanted to bring out a combination that has never been done before, to bring out a totally new image and a new look to how we look at leather products”
27 NOVEMBER 2018, NAIROBI, KENYA
Various shots, models at fashion event.
The world has rallied around the enormous pressures facing our oceans and waters, from plastic pollution to the impacts of climate change. At the same time, there is international recognition that we need to develop our waters in an inclusive and sustainable manner for the benefit of all.
In 2013, FAO launched the Blue Growth Initiative which seeks to balance the sustainable management of aquatic resources with economic and social benefits for local communities. Working with fisheries communities, Blue Growth aims to add value to fish to increase incomes and provide additional employment opportunities within the fisheries sector.
In order to add value to the locally caught fish and to create alternative employment to the community, Victoria Farms began to produce fish leather, which is used by the fashion industry.
Developing Blue Fashion – as part of the UN Global Partnership for Sustainable Fashion – could be one promising advancement for fisheries and fish processing communities.
James Ambani, the CEO of Victorian Foods in Kitale, began working with about 300 fishermen in the communities around Lake Turkana, in Kenya’s northernmost region. These fishermen provide Ambani’s factory with Nile perch fish, transported through cold storage to Kitale, where it is fileted, processed and shipped around the country and abroad. Because the fish is fileted, the skin is largely unused, or sold as a low value food product. In order to add value to the locally caught fish and to create alternative employment to the community, Victoria Farms began to produce fish leather, which is then transformed into fish leather and used by the fashion industry.
SOUNDBITE (English) James Ambani, CEO-Victorian Foods:
“Fish leather is considered exotic leather, like reptile leather, and you know the reptiles are endangered. We have crocodile leather or snake leather which is endangered, but fish leather, it's a good alternative to that. You don't require “CITES”, you know, the permit that you use to export the leather for endangered animal species, you don't need that. So I think very soon, as it gains popularity, there is going to be a lot of demand for it in the market’.
There are various advantages to the use of Nile perch leather. Due to its relatively large size, the fish skins have wider surface areas compared to most fish skins. The alignment of the perch leather (criss-crossed instead of parallel) means that the resulting leather is the second strongest type of leather. Fish leather clothing and accessories are unique and extremely durable, while also being a far lighter material than cow leather.
SOUNDBITE (English) James Ambani, CEO-Victorian Foods:
‘We have lots of finished products, we have shoes, we have jackets, belts, handbags, purses, the list is quite big. Also, the automobile world is looking at motor vehicle interior finished with fish leather, so it's growing. The demand is growing.”
Kenyan designer Jamil Walji, Head Fashion Designer at JW Couture, accepted a challenge to create designs made with fish leather produced at Victorian Foods for a Blue Fashion show held at Nairobi’s Blue Economy Conference.
SOUNDBITE (English) Jamil Walji, Head Fashion Designer, JW Couture saying:
“I was inspired actually to create garments with it, infuse our local fabric, the leso, together with the fish skin and the European materials. I wanted to bring out a combination that has never been done before, to bring out a totally new image and a new look to how we look at leather products”
The fish leather is of interest to designers in Kenya and abroad. The goal is to expand production and to ensure that 60 percent of those working on creating fish leather for Victorian Foods will be comprised of local women and youth.
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