Our purses are made by local Rwandan villagers who have mastered the craft of weaving. Some of these artisans work alone or with other family members. A number of the artisans are members of larger groups who have come together to share their skills with each other, build friendships, and provide a stable base of support for the most vulnerable members of their communities – orphans and widows of the 1994 genocide and those who were physically and emotionally scarred by the violence.
We currently have members of five separate groups who create our purses – one is an orphaned brother and sister team and the other four are larger community based cooperatives.
Photo by Luke MacGregor
“We Come Out of Poverty” – Chantal’s Story
Chantal is a member of one of the four cooperatives mentioned above. Her cooperative is named Twivane mu Bukene, which means “we come out of poverty”. Chantal is 35 years old and she supports a family that includes 8 children. Three of the children are her own, the others are orphans that she has been looking after since 1994. The orphans are the children of Chantal’s older brother who died during the genocide and her sister who died more recently. Chantal’s oldest natural child is twelve.
Before she joined the cooperative, Chantal farmed the land for much less income. There were so many widows and needy women in the area where she lives that the women decided to join together to help each other. The group is more than just about getting work and earning money, it is about meeting together, sharing problems, praying and helping each other out.
Chantal says that many of the women were very lonely before they had the cooperative to go to – but now they are together – looking out for each other. The group meets twice a week on Mondays and Friday afternoons. The women weave in their own homes throughout the rest of the week.
Weaving allows Chantal to work at home while caring for her children and provides enough income for Chantal’s family to have the food and clothes they need. Chantal hopes to make enough money to send all of her children to primary school and then to University. Chantal went to secondary school, but she could not complete her studies. Her parents did not have enough money to send all their children to school (there were 12 in Chantal’s family), and so they sent the boys. Chantal was brought home to work in the house – she made it to 3rd grade before her parents pulled her out of school.
Photo of Twivane mu Bukene weavers by Luke MacGregor
