An Interview With Azizah and Rita – Co Founders of Bebe Sachi

Welcome to Day 6 of Black Babywearing Week UK. As well as running another awesome giveaway today we bring you an interview with Azizah and Rita, Co Founders of Bebe Sachi.

Admittedly I wasn’t aware of the brand prior to attending The Wrap Show 2019 and after listening to Mars Lord’s talk about inclusivity in the western Babywearing world and learning that they were CIC accredited I wanted to know more about the amazing women behind the brand.

Thanks to BBWWUK Co Founder Jozan, she put me in contact with Azizah and so, was able to ask them a few questions…

Can you both introduce yourselves for those that may not be familiar with the work you do?

[Azizah] I’m a mum of 2 boys; Nathanial and Caspar (9 and 3). I’m a very proud woman of colour who’s heritage includes being Malay (my father’s from Kelantan) and being from New Zealand (my mother is from the South Island).

I’m married to Stephen why is part Maltese and part Scottish. I always like to include my heritage as it defines me, my work ethic and everything that makes me “Azizah”.

The Bebe Sachi project has never been able to sustain us financially, not that it is something we are embarrassed about! We are so privileged that we have other jobs to help us in our day to day lives and help sustain the project through tough times.

Bangladesh suffers many natural disasters) and is heavily affected by the immediate effects of climate change, politically it can be tremulous and we are not fashion designers – especially what is considered to be Western fashion.

I own the (community interest companies) CIC’s Slingclinic and Library London and is co-director of slinging london CIC. Where we aim to help parents find the right carrier through a library service at less than a 10th of the retail price.

They try and loan a carrier from us and then once they find a carrier that suits them (more often it’s the carrier that finds them!) – they can go on to buy a carrier from retailers. Knowing how to use it and what to expect.

So therefore I’m a trained “Babywearing Consultant’ (whatever that means – I like to think of myself who’s just gone on a few courses ; Die Trageschule, Slingababy and School of Babywearing – acknowledging that they are Western courses; but my heritage has also encouraged me to further deepen my knowledge on our own traditional carry the ‘selendang’) Once again these CIC’s does not sustain us financially.

So I work full time as the Lead Clinical Services Manager and Pharmacist for Local Services West London NHS Trust across 3 boroughs – Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Hounslow.

These are incredibly diverse areas of London and I specialise in Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia and Treatment Resistant Depression. I’m well published in these areas.

I try to use my knowledge to help Black and Ethnic Minority communities directly by running free outreach support sessions in East and South London and am part of a variety of charities who travel to West Africa to try and destigmatise mental illness.

I guess I’m most known as being an Executive Board member of the Besstel Child and Adult Foundation Trust in Ghana where we aim to build the first ‘recovery model’ hospital for mentally unwell people.

I’d like to point out this is not completely altruistic or indeed ‘saviourism’ – as I fully accept and own the fact that the work I do helps me be a better clinician to the community I serve here in London – where many have West African heritage, the amount of knowledge on how different cultures experience ‘stress, feelings of depression, anxiety and hallucinations’ far outweighs the amount of money and time Ive spent on these projects.

[Rita] I’m a mum of 4: Adam (18), Alysha (16), Aidan (13) & Aariz (7). I’m Malay but have a mixed heritage of Chinese, Javanese & the Middle East (Turkey). Malaysia is known as a multi–ethnic, multicultural, and multilingual society and we all live harmoniously and proudly call ourselves “Malaysians”. My husband is Malay with Chinese and Javanese heritage.

I’m an IT professional by training (graduated from the UK) and worked in the corporate sector for over 10 years before I decided to pursue my true passion which was in Breastfeeding Advocacy. I’ve been a breastsfeeding advocate since 2001 when my eldest son was born. I qualified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2009, co-founded the Malaysian Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Association in 2010 and the Bebe Sachi project in 2012 while living as an expat wife in Bangladesh.

I was on the panel of consultants for the leading parenting magazine called “Pa&Ma” in Malaysia for over a decade and have written many articles, appeared on various media platforms to talk about breastfeeding & babywearing which can mostly be viewed here: www.susuibu.com . I’m also an author of a breastfeeding book entitled “Hebatnya Susu Ibu” (which is in Malay).

Like Azizah, I was also trained by babywearing schools, specifically School of Babywearing UK and Die Trageschule Dresden and am now a “Babywearing Consultant”.

I volunteer at sling meets and teach babywearing whenever I can. I also do breastfeeding & babywearing home visits/consultations as part of the services offered. Otherwise I’m also the friendly lady who walks around saying hello to any breastfeeding/babywearing mom I bump into at supermarkets (LOL)!

The other “hat” I wear is as a Director and major shareholder of an IT company called Aratechbis Sdn Bhd and an Engineering company called Mutiara Etnik Sdn Bhd. I sit as a board member for both companies. Suffice to say, I draw a decent income from these companies which helps me to sustain financially. Alhamdulillah.

How did you both meet?

Rita and I have been friends for almost 30 years! Our birthdays are 4 days apart. Rita reached out to me after yet another miscarriage and essentially said – “come, this project will help you heal”.

That was 6 years ago and looking back I think giving has helped more than I could imagine! There is a trust, a bond between women of a similar heritage, background and ideals. I wouldn’t do this with anyone else. I’d be far too suspicious!

What was the motivation behind creating the Bebe Sachi Brand?

Rita saw first hand the effects that the industrial revolution had on the incredibly talented and skilled hand weavers from Bangladesh.

Remembering of course that superficial lines were used by the British Empire to carve up South Asia. Nevertheless Bangladesh is still “the place” renowned in Asia for it’s handweaving heritage.

Spanning back many many years when the European aristocracy would show off their hand woven muslin from Bangladesh in their courts. Rita couldn’t bear the sight of villages left for months on end without their fields tended to as the men migrated in droves into the city looking for work.

These talented individuals would work in garment factories for hours and months on end in exceptionally difficult conditions leaving behind their village. She could not stand by any longer and had to act.

The opportunity came when she was introduced to a Master weaver “Rahman” and later “Munir” who is known as the man with “magic fingers” as he has created many beautiful Bebe Sachi master pieces especially for the Khadi range. To read more about the Bebe Sachi Khadi, click HERE :

Can you tell us the story behind where you have got to now?

Well the western ‘wrap’ market fluctuates and is difficult to predict. We’ve had wonderful successes and some difficult times as well. Each time there is a flood or natural disaster it impacts our weavers ability to weave. Each time there is political turmoil – our weavers aren’t able to weave.

We also must emphasise – we are not a hand weaving factory! The weavers can only create their pieces when they are truly at peace and in the knowledge that their fields are tended too, their children are at school safely and there will be no delay in getting paid.

Bebe Sachi has CIC accreditation. What does this acknowledgment mean to you both?

The company is actually registered in Malaysia where both Rita and I are from. There is no CIC or equivalent status in Malaysia. It was also important for us not to be seen like a charity. Our weavers are exceptionally talented and bring with them over 10 generations of weaving history.

Charity – almost insults their skill and heritage. So we have set it up as a Fair-trade and Social Enterprise (in fact the very term social enterprise and it’s roots began in Bangladesh by Prof Mohammed Yunus – so we found it very fitting!) Ultimately, what we want is for the weavers to have dignity of work.

What are the lessons learnt from owning a non profit company?

I think it is safe to say that since it’s conception Bebe Sachi has been running as a negative profit company rather than a non-profit. It has meant we have had to close down some looms and stop weaving at times. Just sustaining the village financially where we can.

Our dream is to create Bebe Sachi into a profitable company – that can be run by the weavers and their designers themselves! We would eventually take a step back and perhaps simply act as consultants to the company.

And we’d like to move this model to other areas where the traditional art of handweaving is being taken over by the mechanical loom.

Where in minutes hundreds of metres of fabric are generated rather than preservation of a heritage, skill and art.

Places like Nepal, India, Malaysia – handweaving is not being encouraged or preserved as something truly worthwhile. And if you’ve ever tried anything handwoven – we don’t need to explain why this would be a great loss!

Our heritage and colour means that our focus is in countries where PoC who are hand weavers are being replaced by the mechanical loom. Our heritage and our dedication to the preservation of the Asian handloom is what drives us. *interview concludes*

I hope have enjoyed reading my interview with Bebe Sachi Co Founders Azizah and Rita.

I personally LOVE that every penny made from purchasing a Bebe Sachi Babywearing product goes straight back into the villages and to the families and weavers that helped create their stunning wraps and mei dei’s.

It has made me think twice when making a purchase and wish Azizah, Rita and the Bebe Sachi project every success going forward.