Jam Tun (Jam Tun) — Connecting with Senegal through colorful clothing and accessories. Creating kind and joyful things.

Interview with Tomoko Taga

We spoke with Ms. Taga about the bag-making project using waste that led to the creation of jam tun, and how it developed into the jam tun of today.

How jam tun came to be

Were you originally interested in issues such as poverty in developing countries?

Taga (surname only)

Yes. When I was a child, I was struck by images I saw in a documentary program called “If the World Were a Village of 100 People” and in UNICEF leaflets: children around my age working, or living beneath manhole covers because they had no homes.

I studied a different field at university, but when it came time to look for a job, I reconsidered and thought, “I really do want to study international cooperation,” so I decided to go to graduate school in the UK.

Why did you choose to join the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers after graduating from graduate school?

Taga

There was little fieldwork at graduate school in the UK. I gained knowledge, but I still didn't know what developing countries were really like.

I felt that even when you know in theory what should be done, if the problem isn't being solved in reality, there must be some issue somewhere—and perhaps you can't understand it without going there yourself.

I also wanted to become a United Nations staff member, so I wanted to learn about the local situation before taking on that job. That's why I chose the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, which allowed me to stay for an extended period.

When your term with the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers ended and you returned to Japan, had you already decided to start jam tun?

Taga

No. If I had decided, I think things would have gone more smoothly (laughs).

During my work with the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, I sometimes saw support failing to reach the people who really needed it. I returned home unsure whether to continue pursuing my goal of becoming a UN staff member.

I had planned to look for a job after returning, but I wanted to maintain the connections I had built with the people I had spent two years with in Senegal and grown close to, so I started selling pouches and tote bags made in Senegal.

There wasn't even a name, jam tun, at first. I sold the items at a morning market in my hometown of Yakage under a sign that read “Senegalese goods,” while introducing people to Senegal.

I started out thinking that if things didn't go well, I would change my approach or quit (laughs). But people who related to what I was doing began reaching out, and as I kept exhibiting at events they invited me to, more and more people gradually came to know about it.

Building an equal relationship, not providing support

Why don't you use words like “support” or “fair trade” to describe jam tun's activities?

Taga

Because I think of them as people I work alongside.

The idea of giving or receiving support doesn't feel right to me when it comes to the people I became close to in Senegal.

I didn't start this because I wanted to do fair trade or work toward the SDGs, and I'm not aiming for that now, either.

By building the kind of relationship I envision—“on equal terms, and enjoying it together”—it naturally became what it is today.

Few customers buy from us because they think it will “support” someone. Most buy because they like the patterns or find the clothes comfortable.

Is there anything you'd like to do going forward?

I want to create a system that allows customers in Japan to order custom-made clothes directly from tailors in Senegal.

In Japan, custom-made clothing can seem out of reach, but in Senegal it's part of everyday life—even children have clothes made to order.

Customers will be able to choose something they truly love instead of picking from what's on display in the shop. And knowing who will buy their work also motivates the tailors.

I want to share the comfort of the custom-made experience I had in Senegal with more people in Japan. I don't just want to deliver products; I want to connect the people who make them with the people who wear them.

From the Writer

I've also shopped at jam tun several times. While Ms. Taga is helping a customer, someone she's just met will sometimes step in to tie the strings on a garment or show them how to wear it.

It was a warm and fun space where the “connections” Ms. Taga values arise naturally.

I hope this kind of space spreads from jam tun to the rest of the world, and that many more ways emerge for buying clothes you love to naturally lead to international cooperation and contribution.

jam tun details

Name	jam tun
Address	No permanent shop; check Instagram for pop-up shops and other locations
Parking	None
Business hours	Check Instagram for pop-up shops and other locations
Closed	Irregular holidays
Payment methods	Cash
Website	jam tun

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