When Sasha first embarked on her journey to Africa she was put in contact with a small women's cooperative in Rwanda. It was here in Kigali, she fell in love with the work she was doing.
Ineza cooperative is a small sewing group, comprised of 25 HIV positive women. The cooperative creates high quality bags, jewelry and home decor products. It is through this business these women are able to make a fair living wage, support their families and offers a communal support system and a sense of personal well being. Sasha found the most rewarding part of working at this cooperative was seeing first hand how the confidence grew in each woman she worked with. With the skills she had learned through school in Toronto she was able to teach these women better sewing skills, how to read and create patterns and most of all how to build their small sewing group into a successful cooperative. These women went from being shy and vulnerable to confident in themselves and their future. While working at Ineza many of these women learned to speak English, learned new skills and have grown into managerial roles at the cooperative.
It empowers the women, knowing they can support their families, educate their children and continue to build the cooperative. Selling products that are made by people who are treated and paid fairly gives not only one woman hope for the future but it allows them to build a better future for their family and community. Being able to provide food and education for their children creates a foundation to build lasting sustainable peace and development in their local communities.
Our Heart Shopping bags all come from the Ineza Cooperative. They are created by using African Wax Fabric which was purchased at local markets in Rwanda. Each bag is sewn by one of the 25 women using foot powered sewing machines. The heart really symbolizes the love that these women put into each and every piece they create. We love these bags for their practical use and beautiful prints. When zipped closed, in the shape of a heart, they are super compact fitting in almost any purse, bag or backpack making it easy to always have with you. When opened into the bag it's the perfect size for those on-the-go, last minute purchases that we all make throughout our day. Best of all, it helps to eliminate the use of those pesky plastic bags.
Check out our Heart Shopping Bag at www.causeandeffectshop.com and help support the HIV positive women at the Ineza Cooperative.
Inezas Cooperative leader Epiphany hard at work making beautiful bags
No comments:
Post a Comment