Regular readers of this blog know my bicycles-for-education PhD fieldwork was with the local people and riders of Lunsar, Sierra Leone.
The Lunsar Cycling Team has been gaining increasing attention recently, especially with the upcoming, ever popular annual Tour de Lunsar cycling event.
I was delighted to see AFRICAP is a Tour de Lunsar event supporter. AFRICAP cycling caps was founded by Hammer (from Sierra Leone!) who started it out of a love for cycling and a desire to bring something special to the sport.
Africap was created to merge two passions: African prints and cycling. Cycling caps are not traditionally made with African prints, so Africap saw an opportunity to change that. They create beautiful and stylish cycling caps made from traditional African fabrics.
Ankara Prints
Each Africap product is made with a unique African print. The prints are sourced from all over the continent, so no two products are exactly alike.
These cycling caps are handcrafted from Ankara material which is a traditional African fabric. Ankara textiles are wax-printed cotton fabrics commonly used across West Africa and each region has its own distinctive design. The material itself is great as it is very light, airy and absorbent which helps keeps riders cool.
Each cap is named after a particular region that the fabrtic is from. Africaps are not factory made, but released in limited editions so are collector’s items and highly sought after.
There are so many different African prints and textiles, it can be hard to know where to begin. One of the things that makes African prints so special is the range of colours and designs. Whether you’re looking for something bright and bold or more subdued and traditional, there’s an African print out there for you.
Ankara prints are unique for many reasons. One reason is that they are handmade. African prints are also usually made with bright, bold colors that reflect the vibracy and diversity of African cultures. Ankaras often have geometric patterns that are created by both hand-painting and block printing. African prints usually have a lot of symbolism. For example, certain animals may be used to represent different ethnic groups or ideas. All of these factors combine to create some truly beautiful and unique fabrics.
Africap’s STORE has a range of musettes and their groovy cycling caps are named after the regions the material comes from –such as Bo, Ngor, Cocody, Abduja, Odu and Regent.
I was super impressed to see that Africap supports sustainable practices and that no plastic materials are used during production or sales cycles. I can see why these caps have quickly become a favorite among cyclists in Africa and for those ‘in the know’ internationally.
Africaps is working to expand its reach beyond Africa, and has already partnered with several international cycling teams.
The company’s mission is to promote cycling in Africa and to help African cyclists reach their potential. And it was great to see them doing this with their renewed support of Tour de Lunsar 2022.
See more about Africaps and Hammer in Sylvie D’Aoust’s video below.