Thread of life for Ethiopia women

(From left) Hannah Tesfamasiam, Janet Bridge, Meselu Merhawit, Jen Jones and Letyesus share their love of making quilts [CAFOD]

CAFOD partner the Daughters of Charity has piloted a link between two women in Wales who restore antique quilts, and a women’s centre in Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia

Jen Jones owns an antique quilt shop in Wales but, with few Welsh quilters left to meet the demand, finding skilled labour to produce her replica and smaller versions of antique quilts was increasingly difficult.

However, her interest in fairtrade coupled with a chance meeting with a member of CAFOD/Trocaire's Ethiopia office spawned an idea that, with training, women working at the Daughters of Charity women’s promotion centre in Mekelle would be able to produce commissioned quilts.

Long tradition

Ethiopia has a long tradition of weaving and embroidery and, after cycles of drought and war which left the majority of its people impoverished, it is currently entering a period of economic growth.

This creates the possibility for developing new products and creating more income for women who may otherwise be forced into sex work or other hazardous ways of earning a living.

Janet Bridge, a seamstress working with Jen to repair antique quilts, has been working with the staff of the Daughters of Charity to help adapt existing skills of women in the centre to the challenge of welsh quilting.

The Daughters of Charity and the women involved in the project are really excited by the possibilities that this Welsh-Ethiopian link can create.

The centre in Mekelle has been helping poor women develop their needlework to produce goods for the local market and therefore generate income for themselves.

The quilting commissions offer these women a chance to develop new and more profitable skills.

Jen says: "There is a strong market for the replica Welsh flannel quilts and, as these beautiful quilts are sold online and in the gallery in Wales, the incomes of the producers in Ethiopia will rise substantially."

Their third journey from Wales to Ethiopia was in March 2008, and Jen says the pair were welcomed back to Mekelle in a style befitting of old friends.

She says: "The first quilting workshops were held last year and the purpose of this trip was to conduct a 'training of trainers’ so skills can be developed further, and taught to new women joining the centre.

"We were keen for the women to experiment with colour and design, since part of the charm of Welsh quilts was that each one was unique and bore the hallmark of the individual quilter.

"We were overwhelmed by the quality of the quilts which had been produced since the last visit. The love affair with quilts which drew us to Ethiopia seems infectious."

Voices from Ethiopia

BBC reporter Elizabeth Blunt joined Jen and Janet on their most recent trip to Mekelle, and produced a feature story about the project, which was aired on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour on April 8, 2008.
Listen now online

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