Woven Fates

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project © Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project © Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project View all images ↓
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"Woven Fates" is a photo reportage exploring the environmental and social impact of textile waste in Ghana. It focuses on local communities, especially the kayayei women, who bear the brunt of fast fashion's excess, highlighting resilience and injustice.

 "Woven Fates" is a photo reportage that aims to explore the profound impact of textile waste pollution in Ghana and its far-reaching effects on the environment and local communities. Ghana has become a major importer of second-hand clothes, driven by fast fashion's relentless cycles and overconsumption in the Global North. The influx of these second-hand clothes in recent years, often referred to locally as "obroni wawu" or "dead white man's clothes," has created major implications for the country.

 On one hand, Kantamanto market is a vital source of income for many traders, transporters, tailors and kayayei. It plays a crucial role in supporting a complex ecosystem of informal work and entrepreneurship. However, the environmental cost of this trade is severe. Ghana's waste management infrastructure struggles to handle huge volumes of textile waste. Much of the imported second-hand clothing is of low quality and quickly becomes waste, accumulating in landfills and coastal areas, and destroying marine ecosystems.

Accra’s largest slum, Agbogbloshie, often referred to by locals as ‘Sodom and Gomorrah, is one of the world’s largest e-waste dumping sites. In addition to electronic waste, Agbogbloshie also receives significant amounts of textile and plastic waste, exacerbating the area's pollution and making waste management and recycling efforts more challenging. The burning of e-waste in Agbogbloshie releases toxic chemicals, including lead and mercury, which contaminate the air, soil, and water. This leads to severe environmental pollution and creates hazardous living conditions for the local communities. Common health issues among residents and workers include respiratory problems, skin diseases, and long-term conditions such as cancer and neurological disorders.

Due to climate change and prolonged droughts in northern Ghana, many young women migrate to Accra in search of employment opportunities. Under the sweltering sun, the kayayei spend long hours carrying heavy loads on their heads through Accra’s busiest market, earning only a few cedis (a few dollars) a day. Some kayayei carry bales as heavy as 55 kg, leading to severe injuries to their spines and necks. Often, they rely on over-the-counter painkillers to continue working despite the pain. The heavy bales of second-hand clothes they carry symbolize the broader socio-economic burdens they endure, including financial hardship, gender inequality and urban poverty.

Whether it’s dumping e-waste or textile waste, the recurring narrative highlights environmental injustice, with the Global South disproportionately bearing the pollution and health hazards caused by the consumption patterns of the Global North.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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The Kantamanto Market, situated in the central business district of Accra, is Ghana’s largest second-hand clothes market with around 30,000 traders. Every week, Kantamanto Market in Accra receives approximately 15 million pieces of second-hand clothing from the Global North.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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A kayayei is carrying a heavy load through the busy streets of Kantamanto, Accra's largest second-hand market earning only a few cedis (a few dollars) a day.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Edem has been working as a tailor at Kantamanto market for over 20 years. Each day, he produces around 150 T-shirts from fabric scraps, which he supplies to vendors within the market.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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At the ironing section of Kantamanto market, workers iron and fold garments, making them more presentable and appealing to buyers.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Isaac has been ironing clothes for over 30 years at Kantamanto second-hand clothes market in Accra. He uses an old cast iron that has been heated on hot coals.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Workers at Kantamano second-hand market, use blue dye mixed with corn starch to dye worn-out jeans , preparing them for resale .

© Natalija Gormalova - Freshly dyed jeans drying along the train tracks just outside Kantamanto market, awaiting resale.
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Freshly dyed jeans drying along the train tracks just outside Kantamanto market, awaiting resale.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Amina works as a kayayei (female head porter) at Kantamanto second-hand clothes market in Accra. Some kayayei carry bales as heavy as 55 kg, leading to severe injuries to their spines and necks.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Amina and her younger sister Fataya work as kayayei (female head porters) at Kantamanto second-hand clothes market in Accra. Though not yet 12, Fataya followed her older sister’s path out of need to help support their family.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Saida works as a kayayei at the Kantamanto second-hand clothes market. Saida describes the loads she carries as extremely heavy, causing persistent aches in her neck and spine. Despite the physical toll, she continues working to support her family.

© Natalija Gormalova - Rahina, who works as a kayayei, pauses to rest after carrying a heavy bale under the intense heat of Accra.
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Rahina, who works as a kayayei, pauses to rest after carrying a heavy bale under the intense heat of Accra.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Rahina and her 11-year-old sister, Rahia, once slept in the market, but now share a single room with 10 other kayayei girls in Agbogbloshie, Accra’s largest slum.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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In the cramped space of a single room in Agbogbloshie slum, Rahina braids her friend's hair, one of ten girls sharing the tiny quarters.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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A cow rests atop a man-made mountain of waste in the heart of Agbogbloshie, a densely populated slum, home to an estimated 80,000 residents.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Sadiq, a young man who migrated from northern Ghana to work at Agbogbloshie in Accra, one of the world’s largest e-waste dumping sites. He burns electronic waste to extract valuable metals, primarily copper, which he then sells for a small income.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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In addition to electronic waste, Agbogbloshie also receives significant amounts of textile and plastic waste, exacerbating the area's pollution and making waste management and recycling efforts more challenging.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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A rubbish collector carries trash to the top of a sprawling man-made mountain of waste in the center of the densely populated Agbogbloshie slum.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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Kids are walking on the heavily polluted Jamestown Beach in Accra, littered with textile waste and plastic debris. Local fishing communities are struggling as the polluted waters affect fish populations, and the hazardous conditions threaten their health and livelihoods.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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This is heavily polluted Jamestown Beach in Accra.The textile waste, often originating from the nearby market Kantamanto, accumulates alongside plastic trash contaminating the sand and water. The relentless tide brings in more waste each day, further exacerbating the pollution.

© Natalija Gormalova - Image from the Woven Fates photography project
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The heavily polluted Korle Bu Lagoon, contaminated with plastic and textiles, runs through Agbogbloshie slum, one of the largest e-waste dumping sites in the world, before flowing into the ocean.