Paisley patterns were popular in East Africa in the 19th century due to trade with India and production of the cashew nut, which the paisley symbol resembles. I was asked by a school in the town of Paisley Scotland to provide a paisley pattern for their elephant logo for t-shirts for their forthcoming trip to a Malawi school. I based my design on the paisley shape on the fabric in the photo of the two Makua women (from mid 19th century Mozambique). The Makua peoples mainly lived in Mozambique but several thousand also lived in Malawi. You can read more about this project on my website page Commissioned Paisley Pattern for Scotland Malawi Partnership Project
