Sofra Textiles

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Sofra - A Tunisian Tradition

Starting a textile weaving company wasn’t in the plans of a young teacher, Flavio Basciano, when he migrated from Palermo, Sicily to Ghomrassen (a city in southeast Tunisia) in the early 1920’s. Italy was in the midst of tumultuous economic times following World War I as Flavio joined the more than 100,000 Italians residents in Tunisia. Flavio volunteered to teach French in Tunisia as France began its policy of economic and cultural expansion. This was done through the opening of free schools and spreading the French language in North Africa. He stayed and taught in the desert area for 20 years. While there, he became fascinated by the weaving of the Jewish community and learned their weaving methods. In 1945, he succumbed to the desert heat and moved to Téboulba; a town in the Sahel region in northeast Tunisia with much milder weather. There, he continued to teach French to the Muslim and Christian communities. He also opened a shop in Téboulba where his son, Karim Basciano, learned to weave during his time away from school. Soon, Karim left for Palermo and opened his own shop. There he incorporating Sicilian culture into his creations. At this time, the Basciano family helped Karim to purchase the wood silk he needed and until the 1990’s he made sarongs for use in the public baths in Tunisia, Sicily, and South France. The Tunisian economy rebounded in 1987 following a change in government and a launch of a privatization program. Karim returned to Teboulba and opened a shop where he employs young people in the community to weave foutas. This is done during the summer time so they can earn fair trade wages that allow them to further their education. Karim’s foutas are woven through a combination of southern Tunisian weaving techniques with color combinations inspired by the traditional fabrics of Sicily. Karim’s nephew, Amine Mansour, began selling the foutas in 2014 as a multi-use linen including: blankets, beach towels, table covers, throws, and scarves. Amine moved to the United States in 2014 and was encouraged by friends to sell them locally. He named the company Sofra Textiles, after a tradition in his hometown in Tunisia. Sofra is a Turkish word meaning dinner table and is often expanded in some countries as a piece of cloth spread on the floor on which dishes of food are placed at meal times. His town residents, who are mostly farmers and fishermen, used to make a big meal every Friday for the poor which they called...Sofra. Today, Sofra’s foutas grace not only tables but are used as design accents like throws for the sofa or bed, clothing like sarongs and scarfs, and as bath and beach towels. Amine works with his uncle Karim to ensure the payment of fair trade wages to the indigenous workers in Tunisia and Sicily, those who weave the Sofra foutas. As a result, the textiles have garnered the Fair Trade designation. Purchasing a Sofra product ensures that you make a difference in the everyday lives of people as they build a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities.