Training according to the Train the Trainer principle
Through the Project Justine, we are committed to promoting sustainable education and future career opportunities in Bersingou, Benin. The focus is on establishing and maintaining our own training and vocational center for trainers in the tailoring trade. We rely on the train-the-trainer principle: Qualified training and hands-on learning environments empower the trainers to pass on their knowledge independently. In this way, we not only strengthen individual life paths but also the economic development of the region.
Our goal: To empower people to pass on knowledge, secure livelihoods, and enable a self-determined future in the long term.
Training according to the Train the Trainer principle
Is it possible to have clothes made in Africa under good conditions? Are there tailors who would work for us? Would we be able to train people in the tailoring trade? What foundations would we need to lay locally? These considerations were the starting signal for the foundation of our association with the aim of setting up our own training and vocational centre in the north of Benin. Without public and private sponsors, supporters and donors, we would never have got this far. Our vision is taking shape.
Presidential Republic
Form of government
112622 km²
Area
13,4 million
Inhabitants (2022)
religions
42 % Christians, 28 % Muslims,
28 % traditional religions
60,9 %
Youth literacy rate
(2018)
+ 2,8 %
Population growth rate
(2021)
Country profile
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Benin borders Nigeria to the east, Niger and Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the west and the Bay of Benin to the south. Most of the inhabitants live in the south of the country around the economic center of Cotonou. At its narrowest point, Benin is just 100 kilometers wide; if you want to travel from the south to the north, you have to cover a good 700 kilometers.
ECONOMY
Under President Patrice Talon, the government is pursuing a course of economic reform. Among other things, the range and quality of vocational training is to be improved, companies strengthened, digitalization expanded, corruption combated and the influence of Islamist groups from the northern border regions pushed back.
RELIGION AND LANGUAGE
The state on the Gulf of Guinea is considered the cradle of voodoo and is the only country besides Haiti to officially recognize it as a religion. According to estimates, 11.6 percent of the population profess voodoo, including an increasing number of young Beninese men and women. In addition to French, more than 50 indigenous languages are spoken in the country.
TEXTILE AND TEXTILE INDUSTRY
Benin is the fourth largest cotton producer in Africa after Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. The fibers are exported, but are also used for local textile production. Fabrics with wax prints are known worldwide. However, the traditional-looking patterns do not come from Benin, but from the Netherlands. The Dutch company Vlisco still holds all the strings today.
TRAINING CENTER in Bersingou
Personnel development of the center in figures
Start 2020
1 trainer
Justine Tchialou Payarou
– our first trainer and namesake of the club
3 trainees
Status 2024
11 trainers
30 trainees
- 22 apprentices in their 3rd year
- 8 apprentices in their 1st year
12 employees
- Reading and writing instructors: 1
- Fashion theory instructors: 1
- Mechanics: 1
- Administration: 4
- Kitchen: 2
- Gardening: 1
- Security: 2
Since 2020, we have been training young women and men in the tailoring trade in northern Benin. Through a three-year dual training program, they not only acquire solid technical skills but also gradually develop into trainers themselves. Some remain part of our center and mentor subsequent cohorts, while others return to their home regions to pass on their knowledge to their own trainees there.
This train-the-trainer approach has been a central element of our work from the very beginning. Our goal is to empower people and give them the freedom to shape their own path—whether within our structures or beyond. Together, we create a sustainable foundation for career prospects, self-reliance, and a life with real options in their own country.
Since 2020, we have been training young men and women in tailoring in the north of Benin. As part of a three-year dual apprenticeship, they are not only trained to carry out sewing work to a high standard, but also grow up to become trainers themselves. Some stay with us to accompany the following years. Some return to their home village and pass on their knowledge to their own students. This “train the trainer” approach is important to us right from the start. We don’t want to bind our trainers to us, but rather create a solid foundation together with them: for a life with options and prospects in their own country.
In recent years, several buildings have been constructed, including a seminar hall, a tailoring workshop, a retail store, and a communal kitchen. Our work is guided by a clear principle: we develop our infrastructure based on the actual needs of the local community and continuously adapt it, with the goal of ensuring that training programs remain stable and inclusive over the long term.
Our curriculum covers more than just fabric knowledge, cutting, sewing, and ironing. Trainees also receive instruction in design, patternmaking, cost estimation, marketing, math, writing, and foreign languages. In addition, through a series of coaching sessions, they have the opportunity to reflect on themselves and their professional future.
All garments for our fashion label NOH NEE are now manufactured entirely in Benin. We also receive smaller orders from the surrounding area. These are the first, crucial steps toward self-sufficiency. Even though we are still heavily reliant on grants and donations at the moment, our medium-term goal is to transform the association into a social enterprise.
more impressions
News & Stories
With God’s blessing
We have been looking forward to this day for a long time. On 20 January 2024, we opened our centre to the public and celebrated the topping-out ceremony and inauguration all in one with the mayor, priests and interested parties from Bersingou. Most of the buildings...
Tradition meets modernity
We didn't have to convince Felix Schürmann, professor of architecture at Biberach University of Applied Sciences, and his students. They were on board immediately. THE PROJECT JUSTINE - train the trainer not only offers the chance to really get to know the country and...
Why Benin?
The fact that we chose Benin is a coincidence. We sometimes hear ourselves say this. But it was no coincidence. The choice stands and falls with Justine Tchilalou Payarou, our first student, whom Marie and I trained as a seamstress in our Munich studio.WE HAVE LEARNT...
The Project Justine – Train the Trainer e.V.
The Project Justine – Train the Trainer e.V. empowers young people in Ghana, Benin, and Senegal through vocational training, digital skills, and fair employment opportunities. Our approach is based on training local trainers who pass on their knowledge, thereby building sustainable structures in the textile industry.
In addition to weaving, tailoring, and digital design, we promote literacy, childcare, a small canteen, and safe transportation routes—so that young women and mothers, in particular, can easily access training and work. We set up workshops, develop curricula, equip teams with machines, and support graduates on their path to a self-determined professional life.
A central cultural reference point for our work is the fashion brand NOH NEE. It symbolizes what we mean by contemporary exchange: Colormix as an open, honest, and creative dialogue between cultures. For us, this exchange is not an end in itself, but the starting point for connection, responsibility, and long-term collaboration. Our projects in Benin, Ghana, and Senegal also consciously promote Pan-African exchange—as an equally important foundation for cultural self-identity and economic strength.
We are grateful for the journey we have taken and look forward to the steps that lie ahead. Africa is on the move. We are moving with it.
Milestones
Team & Supporters
Our partners
CONCENTRATION ON SEVEN GOALS (SGDs) OF THE UNITED NATIONS
THE PROJECT JUSTINE
- train the trainer e.V.
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80687 Munich
THE PROJECT JUSTINE - train the trainer e.V.
IBAN DE71 4306 0967 8237 2376 00
BIC GENODEM1GLS
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