December 2017 ~ Issue 27
Kayla Zapata Fory ~ Afro-Colombian from California
I moved to Ghana to assist social enterprises on the ground that were merging business strategy with community-based solutions. I interned with the Kokrobite Institute that was creating sustainable educational materials out of recycled waste and conducting teacher training workshops for local schools. While living in Accra, I developed an interest in the vibrant West-Africa textiles and ease of creating bespoke tailored clothes. I changed projects to join an ethical fashion house called Studio One Eighty Nine, run by fellow Afro-Latina Rosario Dawson and Bottega Veneta executive Abrima Erwiah, that was supporting West African artisan communities. The start-up life pushed me to grow and take on several new responsibilities in finance and marketing. I learned how to pitch and manage photo shoots among other practical business skills. While abroad, I started a bilingual traveling blog called Tejiendo Experiences and am currently working on a new website to refine my content and share how Latin American culture still carries strong ties to Africa.
I am creating a new blog to share my travel experiences around the world focusing on Latin America and Africa. I will be reflecting about living abroad and sharing the various travel tips I have learned while abroad. There are many countries that I have visited, but have not yet posted about - so there are more cuentos up my sleeve. I will also be posting about Afro-Latina and will be posting about the Afro-Latina events around town. I am also super excited to start a new job at Instagram with Facebook HQ in the San Francisco Bay Area. I want to continue to try to connect and create space for Afro-Latina narratives, so stay tuned!"