DIYers Improve Women's Lives in Assam

Deborah Fry (MA IR ‘06), who by day is a researcher at the University of Edinburgh/NSPCC Child Protection Research Centre and previous Research Director at the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault and in the evening is a vintage sewing enthusiast and runs a successful sewing blog called ‘My Happy Sewing Place’ (fashionsfromthepast.blogspot.com) is launching globally a social enterprise called ‘Weaving Destination’ as of December 2012. She states on her blog, “We are passionate about creating financial independence for women and connecting women globally. Our social enterprise called Weaving Destination, aims to promote the finest ethical silk and vintage-inspired cotton print fabrics and products hand-woven by indigenous women from Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Assam, India to the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) and sewing communities in Scotland and globally.”

Weaving Destination includes three weaving centers in remote villages of the BTC, Kokrajhar, Assam, a sewing unit, and a group of females trained in yarn extraction. Besides the 65 women engaged in the three weaving centers, many more have been trained and are employed in the sewing unit and yarn extraction process. One of the young women trained at the sewing unit runs her own sewing training center with support from NEDAN Foundation.

Engaging and empowering women—economically and socially— feeds back to empowering families and communities they belong to. The Weaving Destination is a social enterprise primarily for creating employment and livelihood opportunity for ethnic, indigenous local women. NEDAN Foundation, the charity organization through which the project runs works towards other significant issues in the area such as child protection, education, health, peace building and overall community development aspects in the villages the women come from and where the weaving centers have been established.

Want to learn more about how you can support Weaving Destination through the purchase of hand-woven scarves and fabrics? Visit fashionsfromthepast.blogspot.com for the latest updates and watch for the addition of their shop on www.etsy.com.