Exactly one cloth is created from the bark of one tree. The harvesting of the bark and its subsequent processing are carried out exclusively by handwork. Only if trained hands were at work during harvest and processing, nature in perfection can be offered. For not everyone is master of the great art of tree peeling and the ancient, traditionally handed down knowledge of bark processing.
In contrast to most other nature-based solutions available on market, this so-called monomaterial does not contain any binders, dyes or other additives. It contains the bark fiber only, which is chemically broken down to cellulose, hemicellulose, tannins and traces of minerals.
The movie shows each single step of the traditional manufacturing and the extreme dexterity of Uganda’s organic farmers.
On the production side, each square meter of Bark Cloth requires less than one liter of water. Since it is produced with muscle power only, and since the basic metabolic rate of a hard working man is only slightly higher than the metabolic rate of a man, resting lazy in a hammock, its production is CO2 – neutral. And if the natural CO2 – binding effect of Mutuba trees is included in the carbon footprint, Bark Cloth manucturing is even CO2 – positive. No other textile offers such a favorable ecobalance.
A piece of Bark Cloth represents exactly the harvest of a tree, each one is unique. The color ranges from orange and ocher, terracotta and fawn brown to a deep reddish brown. As diverse as nature itself. It measures an average of 150 x 270 cm, with variances ranging from 130 to 180 cm in width and 255 to 350 cm in length. Customized sizes are possible. It is from 0.3 to 1.8 mm thick, most of the produce is available in a thickness of around 0.7 to 1.1 mm. The seams and patches made of sisal and bast threads are not a design feature, but rather improvements which result from branch holes and mendings.
