KANTA COMMUNITY

Kantamanto is more than just a marketplace; it is a vibrant and resilient community composed of diverse individuals, including retailers, tailors, upcyclers, recyclers, Kayayei, and many more. Nestled in the heart of Ghana, this bustling hub thrives on the collective resilience of its people. Retailers sell thrift, tailors craft unique designs, and upcyclers breathe new life into discarded materials. Recyclers contribute to sustainability, while the Kayayei, working hard to distribute bales across the market, add dynamic energy to the scene. Together, these individuals form a tapestry of ingenuity, hard work, and creativity, embodying the spirit of unity that defines Kantamanto's unique and thriving ecosystem.

NORTH → SOUTH

If you have ever thrown away your garments into a textile bin or donated them to charity, there's a significant chance that they ended up in the global South. A large majority of donated and collected "unwanted" garments are sorted in low-income European countries, often in Eastern Europe. Of this vast amount of clothing, only the best quality remains in the global North. The bulk, lower quality garments, are exported to the global South, to countries like Ghana. In Ghana, importers buy the garments wholesale in containers. The containers are filled with clothing bales of up to 55kg, containing up to 300 garments each.

UPCYCLERS

Upcyclers at Kantamanto range from the younger generation of tech-savvy cool kids using social media to market their creations, often influencing the local music scene, to the older generation that focuses more on turning unsellable garments into anything that sells. The designers working with Kantamanto Social Club are of the younger generation; some have even become famous across the market as they have styled some of the biggest artists in West Africa. These upcyclers scour the market for the specific pieces they need to create the outlandish styles they call Drip. As they come up with an idea before they start sourcing, it can sometimes take them up to a week to find all the items they need, as some of them have shared that it can take a whole day to find that one specific item they are looking for. Upcyclers often work closely together with some of their trusted tailors.

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Mummies Boy
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Phaqe Mani the Designer
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Kofi Heller
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The Bhaby Customs
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Emmanuel Tetteh
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Arow Boi
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Rich Palmar
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Lucky Blezz
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Martinson Klothing

KAYAYEI

The Kayayei, also known as "she who carries the burden," are essential workers in Kantamanto market, transporting heavy bales of clothing on their heads, sometimes from as young as 10 years old. However, this labor often leads to severe health issues, including spine and neck injuries, with tragic cases of children dying under the weight of falling bales.

Originating from rural northern regions, these women face discrimination and are vulnerable to sexual violence in the capital's informal settlements. To support them, advocate for their rights and consider donating to organizations like the OR Foundation, which empowers them to leave this dangerous profession.

Support these women's journey by donating: OR Foundation Donation

TAILORS

Tailors are the heart of Kantamanto's second-hand ecosystem. Hundreds of local tailors line the small alleyways stall after stall, each populated by a worker and their sewing machine. They do everything from mending small wear and tear to creating on-demand designs for the upcyclers. Currently, Kantamanto Social Club and its group of upcyclers have been working closely with two tailors located on the same street at Kantamanto. Their combined 25 years of experience have been the anchor for the group of designers currently retailing in our webshop.

RETAILERS

The bales are transported to Kantamanto, where they are sold to individual retailers on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the busiest days of the week, also called market day. Retailers buy the bales for up to $350, at which point the contents are yet unknown to them. To buy these bales, retailers often take out loans, resulting in many of them being in debt. The contents of the bale can vary greatly, and sometimes the contents are even contaminated, meaning most of the bale contents might be unsellable.