This week’s episode is an update from Accra, Ghana, and the situation at Kantamanto markets.
It was recorded during the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, where I met up with Liz Ricketts from The Or Foundation. Liz was with several community members from Kantamanto, including market trader Mary and upcycler Latifa – both featured on the podcast. Ultimately this is a story of resilience, entrepreneurship, creativity and skill.
Kantamanto is one of the world’s biggest for physical markets for second-hand clothing, receiving an estimated 15 million used garments from the global north, EVERY WEEK.
On the night of January 2nd, 2025, a huge fire ripped through 10 of the 13 sections in the market, affecting the majority of the estimated 30,000 people working there. It’s a miracle more people weren’t killed. Six months later, the market structure has been rebuilt, but there’s still work to do. Find out how fundraising has been deployed, improvements have given all stallholders access to electricity and a new association of traders has been set up along with a unified security force trained in fire management. However problems persist around waste, the quality of what’s in the bales and the dangerous work of female porters…
Find Episode 150 with Liz, here.
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