Faburama Ceesay is Gambian. After leaving Gambia, he traveled through Africa to Sicily by crossing the Mediterranean on a small boat. Once there, he found love and a job, and today manages a social tailoring workshop in Sicily, with plans for more in the future.
Faburama Ceesay fled Gambia hoping to build a new life in Italy. After crossing the Mediterranean on a dinghy, he reached the Sicilian coastline in 2014 and began living in the province of Messina, where he still lives today.
After living there for a while, 30-year-old Ceesay met a woman, Marika, who has since become his wife, and together they set up a social tailoring workshop, making clothes from natural fabrics and rejecting so called "fast-fashion."
The clothes Ceesay makes are created using natural fabrics and they say their processes respect the environment and traditions, while also trying to avoid any exploitation in their supply chain.
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African materials mixed with recycled Italian fabric
Recently, Ceesay presented their work in Termoli as part of the national network of social tailoring activities.
While Ceesay is busy tailoring, Marika works as a pedagogic cooperative worker. Together they have two young children.
The idea behind social tailoring is growing in Italy. Ceesay is proud of his new business. " I get the fabrics in Africa, but I also do recycling of jeans and Italian fabric", he explained to ANSA.
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Began sewing at the age of nine
"When I was nine years old, I was already passionate about this work and I learned to sew. In 2014 I arrived in Sicily. I was able to survive the Mediterranean crossing on a dinghy, a trip that I do not wish on anyone to have to take. Thank God all went well", he recounted.
Ceesay has big dreams, he is hoping to open a tailoring school in Gambia to provide work for young people back home. "Today I feel Italian. I am married to an Italian and I have two children. With my social tailor shop I try to give youth from Gambia an opportunity that I did not have."
The young designer dedicates himself to creative tailoring sewing natural fabrics together with recycled ones. "The main objective is to create a tailoring school in Gambia to give the opportunity to young people to work in their country of origin, avoiding migration and the Mediterranean route, which is very dangerous", explained Ceesay's wife Marika.
"In our territory the project is to always cooperate most with the local, disabled communities and district houses and non-EU country citizens who come to our shop to learn the art of sewing", she concluded.