Each pair takes four days to weave by hand. No two are identical — the weave pattern shifts slightly with each maker’s rhythm. They are signed with a single dyed strand at the heel.

Wore a pair for three weeks straight — cobblestone, sand, tile. The raffia softened and moulded to the foot. Day 1 and day 21 are different shoes. The material remembers you.

The upper needed to hold the foot without laces or buckles. Adjusted the tension pattern — tighter at the heel, looser at the toe. Each pair is shaped on a wooden last, then removed and left to set overnight.

Layered the sole with a tighter cross-weave, doubled back on itself. Three times the material, three times the labour. But it held. The sole now compresses instead of tearing.

Flat sole, woven upper. It looked beautiful but fell apart after two days of wear. The sole couldn’t handle pavement — the weave was too open, the friction shredded it.

Tested palm raffia from three regions. Too dry and it cracks underfoot. Too fresh and it stretches out of shape. The sweet spot is raffia dried for exactly four weeks in shade — pliable but firm.

Can you make a shoe entirely from raffia — no rubber, no leather, no glue? We started asking weavers. Most said no. One in Madagascar said: ‘My grandmother did.’