The Matilda Flow Inclusion (MFI) Foundation is a non-profit, community-based organization in Amasaman, Ghana founded in 2016 by Matilda Lartey. The foundation’s upcycling studio is home to the Make Fashion Clean Upcycling Partnership and related initiatives through which Upcycled by Matilda Flow art is crafted.
Mission.
The mission of the foundation 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.
The foundation does this through their upcycling studio where they transform secondhand clothing and textile waste into upcycled bags, accessories, fashion, and other denim and tie-dye products. They primarily work with artisans who are women, persons with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, and caregivers of adults with disabilities.
Programs.
The Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation operates multiple programs: employment for artisans (junior and senior artisan roles) and training in sewing, cloth-making, and other crafts. Their training programs include: paid apprenticeships, an entrepreneurship program that provides 6 months of job training and a business development grant, a work-from-home program for bead-making, and community trainings for soap-making and other crafts.
The upcycling studio employs 8 or more artisans or trainees and has adopted a fair wage standard to pay artisans and trainees 70 to 130% above the minimum wage in Ghana, which is adjusted annually. This is intended to create economic security for artisans within the creative economy.
Founder.
Matilda Lartey is an artisan, fashion designer, and community activist, who founded the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation in 2016 to create inclusive work and training for artisans living in or near her community in Fise Amasaman, Greater Accra, Ghana. Like many artisans, Matilda has seen her livelihood affected by the rise of the global fast fashion industry and by the secondhand clothing trade from the Global North, which sends millions of pounds of used textiles to Ghana each year.
As a parent with a daughter with a disability, Matilda has also brought her lived experiences navigating barriers that women with children with disabilities and women with disabilities encounter in employment and earning a living wage in Ghana. She created Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation to serve as a creative hub in her community, providing positions for artisans, paid training, and community programs grounded in values of creativity, inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
Leadership.
Founder Matilda Lartey serves as the Managing Director of the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation.
The foundation is governed by a board of directors comprised of local activists and community members. As of 2026, members of the board of directors include:
- Adieu Kofi Wisdom
- Genevieve Amma Kujam
- James Mensah Tumado
- Richmond Bright Mensah Tumado
Transparency.
The Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation is registered as a charitable foundation in Ghana under registration number CG057422021.
Reports.
2024-2025 Two-Year Report* for the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation
* To be published in June 2026
2023 Annual Report for the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation
Organization History.
The Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation was founded in 2016 by Matilda Lartey with support from multi-media artist Dielle Lundberg and social entrepreneur Julia DeVoy. The foundation was funded from 2017 to 2026 by MFC Tie-Dye Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization in the United States that was created to help sustain and grow our upcycling programs. MFC stands for “Make Fashion Clean”.
The core operations of the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation will be funded from 2027 to 2032 by the Make Fashion Clean Impact Fund, a six-year fund to sustain the foundation as we work to transition to financial sustainability through product sales. Having achieved its short-term goals of catalyzing and scaling the foundation, MFC Tie-Dye Inc. plans to dissolve at the end of 2027 or in 2028, transferring full control of the upcycling partnership to our local governance and management teams in Ghana.
The foundation’s work began with a pilot focused on sustainable tie-dye using organic cotton fabric from Mali and India. In 2017, they transitioned to upcycling, and by 2018–2019, they introduced a focus on upcycled denim, which soon became our primary area of production. In 2026, they reintroduced tie-dye using natural dye methods in collaboration with our partner the Aftermath Learning Lab through a grant that enabled us to test and implement natural dye and improved wastewater filtration processes at the foundation. These efforts ensure that dying methods are low-impact and environmentally sustainable as the foundation works to scale production with them.
In September 2026, the foundation is launching the Upcycled by Matilda Flow brand in collaboration with the team at MFC Tie-Dye Inc. as the signature brand for the Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation. Unlike prior product collaborations, such as the pilot Tie-Dye by Matilda Flow collection, which is sold on Etsy and fulfilled by the team within the United States, Upcycled by Matilda Flow products will be shipped directly from Ghana to reach a global audience, and proceeds from sales will deposit directly into the Foundation’s account rather than passing through a partner organization.
Contact.
Instagram: @mfifashionghana
Email: matildaflowenterprise@gmail.com
Phone: 0206473296
Mail: P.O. Box 18873, Accra North, Ghana
Studio Address: Tie and Dye House, Nii Kpakpo Oblipoo Road, Amasaman Fise, Greater Accra, Ghana
Visit the Upcycling Studio: View on Google Maps
