You are viewing the 2024-2025 Two-Year Report for the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation in Amasaman, Ghana. This report was published on June 22, 2026. Download a PDF version of the report.
Page 1: About the Foundation
Organization
Matilda Flow Inclusion (MFI) Foundation is a non-profit, community-based organization founded in 2016 in Amasaman, Ghana by Matilda Lartey.
Mission
Our mission is to create inclusive work and job training with fair wages for artisans who have been displaced by the secondhand clothing trade and the global fast fashion industry.
We do this through our upcycling studio where we transform secondhand clothing and textile waste into upcycled bags, accessories, fashion, and other denim and tie-dye products. We primarily work with artisans who are women, persons with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, and caregivers of adults with disabilities.
Vision
Our vision is for people to know that at Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation, artisans affected by disability can create amazing fashion. We seek to show people all around the world what artisans at the Foundation can do. The world will hear our story, and learn from us.
Leadership
The board of directors for the Foundation from 2024 to 2025 included Genevieve Amma Kujam, Adieu Kofi Wisdom, Richmond Bright Mensah Tumado, James Mensah Tumado, who served as Board Member and Secretary, Grace Nyame, who served as Board Member and Staff Representative, and Matilda Lartey, Founder and Managing Director.
Page 2: Interview with Founder
Q&A with Matilda Lartey
What were the biggest areas of growth for the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation in 2024-2025?
When we started this project, we were in a wooden structure, and now we are in a cemented structure and trying to fix things so that we get them to our expectations. That is a first area. A second area, the work we are doing, day in and day out, we are improving ourselves. We are changing the things we are doing.
How is the Foundation known and viewed in the community?
For the Foundation, a lot of people know us. We have a sign board at the junction. People often see us. GPS, when you click Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation, it brings you right here to this place. And our social media platform also a lot of people see us. So we are exploding, small small.
What are your hopes for the Foundation in the next two years?
In the next two years, I want this place to be to our expectations. We have to establish ourselves on social media and in the media. Now, the system is about media. Sometimes, it’s not about how you work but about how people see the work. If we’re not able to establish ourself well, then in the next two years, I don’t know how it is going to be. Those are the areas: we have to get marketing our products!
Page 3: Artisan Employment
About the Program
During 2024–2025, the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation employed one senior artisan and one junior artisan who contributed to the Foundation’s upcycling and skills-training programs. The program is designed to create meaningful employment opportunities within the creative economy while providing fair wages that support financial stability for women, persons with disabilities, and caregivers of children with disabilities. In addition to their production responsibilities, permanent artisans serve in leadership roles within the upcycling studio and provide mentorship, technical guidance, and hands-on training to apprentices and trainees participating in the program.
Fair Wage Standard
Due to ongoing currency fluctuations and the significant depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi over the past two decades, the Foundation recognized the need to establish a more sustainable, equitable, and transparent compensation structure for its artisans. In 2026, the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation formally adopted a fair wage standard under which artisans earn a minimum of 90% (junior artisans) and 130% (senior artisans) above Ghana’s national minimum wage. This wage is reviewed annually at the national level and adjusted in accordance with changes in the cost of living and with input from local labor unions. This policy was implemented to increase financial stability for artisans and reinforce the Foundation’s long-term commitment to fair labor practices, workforce development, and social impact.
Page 4: Job Training
About the Program
In addition to artisan employment, the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation offers paid apprenticeships and operates a six-month paid skills training program that is followed by a business development grant awarded upon graduation. This program focuses on tie-dye cloth-making and soap-making, enabling participants to develop practical skills that can be used to establish independent livelihoods after completion. Apprentices receive a minimum of 10 hours of training per week in sewing, fashion design, and upcycling techniques, while also supporting the senior and junior artisans in the production of upcycled goods from secondhand materials. The Foundation had five to six trainees engaged in these programs in 2024-2025.
Fair Wage Standard
As part of the wage standard adopted in 2026, all trainees at the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation receive a minimum stipend set at 70% above Ghana’s national minimum wage. This approach reflects a deliberate departure from common practice in Ghana, where many training opportunities for artisans are unpaid or require participants to pay tuition or training fees. The Foundation provides financial support to enable trainees to fully participate and succeed in the program, recognizing that many are persons with disabilities or caregivers of children with disabilities who face compounded financial pressures and barriers to stable employment.
Page 5: Work-from-Home
About the Program
The work-from-home program is designed to accommodate the occupational needs of persons with mobility challenges for whom daily travel to the Foundation is not feasible or preferable. Artisans and trainees in this program engage in fabric bead-making using scrap materials sourced from the Foundation’s upcycling activities as well as from other local sewing businesses. Participants are visited at least once per month by the Managing Director or, alternatively, visit the upcycling studio for check-ins and to have their completed products inspected. During 2024–2025, the Foundation had at least two trainees participating in the work-from-home program.
Fair Wage Standard
Artisans and trainees participating in the work-from-home program receive a minimum stipend set at 70% above Ghana’s national minimum wage, as of the 2026 adopted wage standard.
Page 6: Community Outreach
About the Program
The Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation regularly conducts a range of community programs. One category includes skills training sessions for community members and groups from churches, schools, and other organizations, which may be held either on-site at the Foundation or at external locations. These trainings primarily focus on soap-making and other small-scale enterprise skills that participants can adopt as income-generating activities to support greater self-sufficiency. The Foundation also organizes community outreach events where it showcases and sells its upcycled products within local markets and public spaces. In both types of activities, the Foundation uses the opportunity to advocate for the skills, creativity, and economic potential of persons with disabilities, while promoting inclusion and awareness within the broader community.
Page 7: 2024 Financial Report
Revenue in 2024: 345,379 GHS
Expenses in 2024: 299,876 GHS
Expenses were divided as follows in 2024: 33.9% for artisan and artisan trainee salaries, 8.7% for studio space rental, 14.8% for upcycling materials, 12.8% for administration and facility renovation, 10.5% for shipping of upcycled products internationally, 9.4% for transport and fuel, 5.3% for utilities and maintenance, and 4.7% for other expenses.
Note: The other category includes other materials and supplies, equipment procurement, transportation maintenance, and miscellaneous costs related to operations and community programs.
Page 8: 2025 Financial Report
Revenue in 2025: 316,340 GHS
Expenses in 2025: 311,157 GHS
Expenses were divided as follows in 2025: 32.7% for artisan and artisan trainee salaries, 2.5% for other staff salaries, 17% for studio space rental, 7.9% for upcycling materials, 8.1% for utilities and maintenance, 7.3% for transport and fuel, 2.2% for administration, and 23.1% for community programs and other expenses.
Notes: Studio space rental for 2026 was paid in advance during 2025. The other category includes other materials and supplies, equipment procurement, transportation maintenance, and miscellaneous costs related to operations and community programs.
Page 9: Budget Narrative
2024-2025 Narrative
The 2024 and 2025 budgets supported the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation’s ongoing upcycling programs, job training, and community advocacy and craft training activities. Across both years, personnel costs included salaries for one senior artisan, one junior artisan, and approximately seven to eight trainees, including bead-makers and cloth-makers participating in hands-on skills training programs. These positions were essential to sustaining upcycling activities while also providing practical employment and workforce development opportunities for community members. More than half of participants in both years were persons with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities. In both years, three cloth-makers successfully graduated from the training program, reflecting continued progress in skills development and economic security efforts. Salary support also included one driver responsible for transportation related to sourcing upcycling materials, facilitating community outreach programs, and visiting bead-makers and other community collaborators.
Operational expenses in both years included rent for the upcycling studio, which is rented at below market-rate value, utilities, maintenance, fuel, transportation, administration, and program-related costs. In 2024, additional funding was required to renovate the upcycling studio in order to improve roof safety and prevent structural leaks, resulting in increased facility-related expenses that year. In 2025, studio rental costs rose because rent for the 2026 studio year was prepaid at the end of 2025. Programmatic and production expenses in both years included purchasing used clothing and other upcycling materials, sewing supplies, glue, dyes, tools, and equipment maintenance. Utilities and maintenance also covered electricity, water refills, insurance, sewing machine servicing, and facility repairs, while administrative and community program costs supported financial auditing, registration fees, soap-making initiatives, disability-related advocacy, and other mission-related activities.
Page 10: Milestones
2024-2025 Milestones
Some key milestones for the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation in 2024–2025 included the renovation of the Foundation’s facility to ensure a safe, water-tight roof and to enable insurance coverage for the workshop space. During this period, the Foundation also supported the graduation of six trainees from its job training program, marking a significant step in skills development and participant progression. Community programming expanded notably after being reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased engagement through training sessions and outreach activities. In addition, the Foundation placed greater emphasis on producing upcycled denim products for international markets through its non-profit partner in the United States, Make Fashion Clean (MFC Tie-Dye Inc.), strengthening its market reach and increasing its visibility locally and internationally.
Page 11: Partnerships
Make Fashion Clean
Make Fashion Clean (MFC Tie-Dye Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to reduce global fashion pollution through textile upcycling and environmental education. As of 2025, MFC serves as a close collaborator and the primary funder of the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation’s upcycling programs, covering over 95% of the program’s operational costs. In addition to its funding role, MFC supports global market access for the Foundation’s products, including through the “Tie-Dye by Matilda Flow” Etsy store, where a pilot collection of upcycled and organic cotton items produced by the Foundation is sold internationally.
Aftermath Learning Lab
Aftermath Learning Lab is an environmental health research and arts lab focused on reducing global textile waste and other technology-related pollution through interdisciplinary work at the intersection of art, policy, developmental psychology, education, and public health, grounded in an environmental justice framework. The Foundation has collaborated with Aftermath Learning Lab on initiatives such as the LEAPS Textile Waste Conference. In 2024, Matilda Lartey was the keynote speaker at the conference, highlighting the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation’s work in upcycling, skills development, and sustainable production systems.
Page 12: Future Priorities
Some future priorities for the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation include recruiting a Social Media Manager and an Inventory Specialist to support the development of an e-commerce platform and strengthen the marketing of its upcycled denim products. The Foundation also aims to increase international distribution by shipping additional tie-dye products to its partners in the United States for sale. Governance priorities include onboarding new board members to enhance the diversity and representativeness of the Board of Directors. In addition, the Foundation plans to address ongoing operational challenges related to transportation to improve efficiency in sourcing materials, supporting community programs, and distributing products. In the long term, the Foundation aims to expand its employment and skills training programs to better meet evolving community needs. It also plans to establish a new campus to accommodate this expanded programming and increase its overall capacity. Ultimately, the Foundation seeks to achieve financial sustainability and greater self-sufficiency through the sale of its upcycled products, strengthening its ability to support ongoing operations and community impact through local governance and management of the programs.
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Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation
P.O. Box 18873, Accra North, Ghana
Tie and Dye House, Nii Kpakpo Oblipoo Road
Amasaman Fise, Greater Accra, Ghana
matildaflowenterprise@gmail.com
+233 206473296
@matildaflowghana
The Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation is registered as a charitable foundation in Ghana under registration number CG057422021.
