Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies CLALSES
Come meet Vítor Sanches, who has built a community-oriented business and a local library in Cova da Moura, a neighborhood for mainly Black African residents from Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, São Tomé, Mozambique and now also from Equatorial Guinea, in Amadora (Lisbon, Portugal).
This CLALSES talk is organized by Professor of Portugues Carlos Pio for the course Portuguese for the Professions. All are welcome to attend.
“I was born in Cova da Moura, but emigrated early. In London I always missed home: speaking Creole, hearing funaná, walking on the alleys and seeing kids playing on the streets. I decided to return to Cova da Moura and came up with the idea of opening a cultural shop. I wanted to create a space where everyone would feel welcome, and there would always be time for a chat, browsing books and listening to music. My little shop was first opened in 2015 and it is called BAZOFO, which is a sustainable and ethical clothing brand. After a while I felt I could do a bit more, both in terms of work and in terms of the neighborhood. This is where BAZOFO and DENTU ZONA came into the picture. Now the project has grown to include a screen printing studio, a local market and other activities. Although I am giving my face to BAZOFO and DENTU ZONA, I never work alone. The project is based on the principle of “Djunta Mô”, which literally means putting your hands together and is a Cape Verdean concept of mutual help – of helping each other and being strong together. I work with local tailors because it’s fun, they are talented, I get to learn a lot and I can also do my share to support them by offering them work. One the tailors is my aunty Alice, my neighbor. She’s been supporting me from the beginning and gave me advice on how to distinguish a great quality African fabric. Aunty Alice was the one who created the first BAZOFO piece ever. Our white t-shirts are Fair Wear certified and made of organic cotton. BAZOFO’s hand made products are made of organic GOTS, OEKO-TEX® and OCS certified cotton and produced in Cova da Moura from the first to the last stitch. The African fabrics are from different sources. We also use leftover fabrics to do small items such as purses, earrings and scrunchies. I print all the BAZOFO products at the DENTU ZONA studio using sustainable water based inks that don’t contain PVC, phthalates or heavy metals. The pigments are of mineral and vegetal origin. BAZOFO is part of a cultural project called DENTU ZONA. DENTU ZONA is Cape Verdean Creole and means “in the neighborhood”. This project includes activities such as markets in Cova da Moura to showcase local talent, cultural/music events to give a stage to emerging artists. All the activities are aimed at empowering the community of Cova da Moura and other marginalized communities.”