Visiting the Androsia Fabric Factory, Andros Island, Bahamas
Rows of fabric hanging to dry
Find the perfect souvenir and learn about the process behind an iconic piece of Andros Island culture at the Androsia Fabric Factory in the Bahamas.
This hidden gem on the largest, but least populated island in the Bahamas is well worth a visit while you’re visiting Andros.
Here, you’ll find hand stamped batik fabric that is sold by the yard and turned into incredible, colorful clothing, bags, and home goods.
In the guide below, you’ll learn everything you need to know about visiting this must-see location in North Andros from what to expect from the tours to what types of souvenirs you can buy in the gift shop.
This post contains affiliates. If you purchase through the links below, I will receive a commission at no charge to you.
What is the Androsia Factory?
The factory was started by a local woman in the late 1960s and actually pre-dates the Bahamas becoming a country (which it did in 1973 after gaining independence from the UK).
Batik was a popular art form in the 1960s, and fit into the era’s free spirit.
To batik something, you dip a stamp into wax, and then firmly stamp that onto white cotton fabric. The wax stamped fabric is then dyed and hung to dry.
When the wax is removed, anything that was covered by wax will still be the white fabric, while every other part of the fabric is fully dyed.
Since batik is a fairly simplistic art form that requires patience and consistency over any one specific skill, the founder, Rosi Birch, realized that she could teach other local women how to print the fabric, and, thus, provided important jobs to this island.
Ms. Birch then assembled a team of islanders who worked through the entire process, dyeing, stamping, and cutting the fabric, then passing that product onto seamstresses who turned the bright fabric into bags, skirts, dresses, and more.
The little factory was so popular that people from all over the Bahamas bought the fabric and finished products, and ultimately, made the batik fabric an easily recognizable product of the country.
Today, that same process is used to make highly colorful fabrics, which are still sewn on the island and sold both in the factory store and in souvenir shops all over Andros.
Taking a Factory Tour
Handpainted sign at the factory
While studying abroad at Forfar Field Station in Andros, I had the opportunity to take a factory tour at the Androsia Fabric Factory, and it ended up being one of the highlights of my time on the island.
I love learning about how things are made, so I don’t ever pass up the chance for a factory tour, like the time I went to the Bacardi Factory while in Puerto Rico.
Not only did we get to see how this gorgeous fabric was made, we had the chance to help stamp some of the fabric ourselves!
I highly recommend adding this to your itinerary while you’re in Andros Island.
If you’re planning your first visit, please check out my complete first time visitor’s guide to Andros, where I share everything you need to know from what hotels to stay at to what to expect at the airports.
Getting here
You’ll find the factory near Fresh Creek on the edge of Andros Town, a small settlement on the eastern coast of North Andros.
From Queen’s Highway, the main north-south artery along the eastern coast of Andros, you’ll want to head to Fresh Creek.
If you’re headed south from Nicholls Town or San Andros airport, you’ll make the first left turn off of Queen’s Highway after passing over the bridge to Fresh Creek.
If you’re headed north, it’s the first right turn off of Queen’s Highway before you get to the bridge.
In either case, you’re headed down the same road that the Andros Lighthouse Yacht Club is on.
Once you’re on that street, look for the first right hand turn. It will be onto a dirt/sand road. Hidden just behind the thick palm trees and underbrush is the Androsia fabric factory.
NOTE: The office and factory are open Monday through Friday 9:30 AM to 4 PM. You can always swing by to see if they’re offering a tour that day, but the best bet is to arrange a tour ahead of time.
Just email the staff at androsia@gmail.com, and let them know how many people you want to visit and when you’re available.
The tours cost about $25 per person.
The Experience
The factory is surprisingly simplistic for a company that churns out massive amounts of fabric each year, and has been doing so for more than 60 years.
Even more surprising is the fact that every single piece of fabric is hand stamped, dyed, cut, and sewn.
The entire factory is one huge room with separate stations for each part of the production process. The fabric comes into the factory as long strips of white cotton.
The men and women who work there take stamps, dip them into wax, and apply the wax to the white fabric.
Most of the stamps have a tropical theme like dolphins, hibiscus flowers, butterflies, pineapples, and coral.
I think it’s fascinating that some of the stamp designs that they use have been in rotation since the factory’s beginnings!
You can also work with the factory have your own custom stamp and fabric created, which would be incredible for a wedding, corporate event, or family reunion.
The employees then dip the fabric into the chosen barrel full of dye. The dye will adhere to any of the fabric not covered in wax.
Next, the fabric is removed from dye barrel and hung up to dry before it is then turned into speciality clothing, accessories, bags, tablecloths, napkins.
The fabric is air dryed just outside the factory.
It is really amazing how energy efficient the entire factory is!
The last part of the tour takes you past the sewing area.
You can see all of the different projects that the factory seamstresses currently have underway.
Shopping at the Factory Store
Shopping at the store
And then, once your tour is over, it’s time for shopping!
There is a tiny little store attached to the factory where visitors can buy pajama pants, dresses, skirts, drawstring backpacks, shirts, and sarongs.
For items that are completely handprinted and handmade, the prices are quite reasonable.
You can expect to pay about $40-50 for the baby/children’s clothing, $50+ for a skirt or dress, and $65+ for a men’s shirt.
The pricing differs depending on the amount of fabric used, what type of fabric, and how many times it had to be dyed to get the desired result (so, single dyed is less expensive than the double dyed fabric).
Once I’d toured about the factory, we started seeing the Androsia fabric everywhere on Andros. For example, my hotel room had these cute valances, and Forfar Field Station had couches made from the fabric.
It was so neat to see how much the other residents of Andros embrace the Androsian fabric. We saw clothes and bags made from the fabric in stores all over the island!
I even got a handmade straw basket with pieces of woven Androsia fabric in it while we were in the village of Red Bays.
I'm happy to say that I've still got my Androsian fabric skirt, and I pull it out from time to time when we've got tropical-themed parties to go to. It's always a conversation starter!
You can order your own Androsian clothing and home goods direct from the factory here, or you can purchase handsewn items from others in the Bahamas, like this boutique.
