Bags in dyed banana fibre

Stunning modern colours and all made from the stems of the banana trees which abound in Rwanda.

The bags are lined with fabric and have a draw-string closure.

Bowls

These durable bowls are made from sisal and wild grasses.  They come in diameters of 17, 30 and 41cm.  Here is a 41cm bowl - the tea colour is made by boiling the threads in...tea! 

Here is Specioza with a bowl she has almost finished:

This is a popular design:

The bowls are made by YWCA members and also by YWCA beneficiaries living with HIV.

Jewellery: necklaces

Necklaces from recycled calendars.  Yes, really! 

Jewellery: ear rings

These ear rings are made from sisal in many designs, colours and sizes.  The sisal is grown by the artisans or their neighbours and the women harvest and prepare it themselves.

Jewellery: wooden bangles

These bangles are made from Jacaranda wood by the Urugero Group of YWCA members in Eastern Rwanda.  They currently ask a neighbour's permission to fell a tree for the wood but they are growing their own plantation of Jacaranda too, though it is not yet ready for harvesting.  The bangles come in a variety of sizes to be worn on your wrist or, as Rwandan women do, further up your arm. 

Introduction to Handicrafts

Many of our members make beautiful traditional handicrafts, as do some of the orphaned heads of households and HIV+ women we support.

Handicraft skills are traditionally passed down from mother to daughter. YWCA members and beneficiaries also improve and develop their skills by attending vocational training courses. Our groups usually meet once a week to weave and sew together. They share techniques and create new designs together. As they work, they also talk about what is happening in their lives, discuss problems and share experiences.

The income from selling handicrafts supplements subsistence farming. The women use it to pay school fees and health insurance and to buy cloth and foods they cannot grow.

Introduction to YWCA Rwanda

YWCA Rwanda is striving for a world where all women live free from poverty and where they and their rights are respected.

A group of thirty women set up the organisation in 1995 to support people widowed or orphaned by the genocide.

We now have 1,450 members and have helped 20,000 vulnerable people across four of Rwanda's five provinces.

Our mission is to develop the leadership and collective power of women and girls in Rwanda to achieve high quality education, health and socio-economic conditions for themselves and their communities.

YWCA Rwanda is affiliated to World YWCA and is a member of YWCA's East African Network. We are a non-governmental, non-profit organisation.