The journey of sewing and tailoring goes way beyond simple dress-making. Our desire for the Artisan Makers Space is to empower the alumni of Elimu Sewing Project with key knowledge and expertise they need to thrive in the fashion and design industry locally and beyond
The girls too aspire to do much more with their skills, “I have learnt how to sew and I can make beautiful dresses for my customers in the village. But I want to learn more about design. And to make many different things like bags, t-shirts and much more. I want to sell beyond the village,” is one of the comments we heard at this weekend’s orientation session.
This Saturday, we called our alumni to an inception meeting for a forthcoming 6-months training program. This training program will see the girls delve into diverse aspects of fashion and design, including designing and making ankara bags, t-shirts, and beadwork. The aim is to equip the girls with the capability to do mass production of their products to boost their businesses and grow their income potential.
“Life begins when you start something, and blooms when you keep doing it.”
Mr. Gitonga, an instructor at Brighton Vocational Training Institute, has volunteered his time to train the participants of the program. With years of experience in grooming young sewing artisans, he added that, “sketching is key. Once you master that art, sewing becomes very simple.”
We were also joined by Sifa, founder of Vintara Collections, a company that produces and sells ankara bags in Nairobi. He is excited to start the journey, sharing his knowledge in making quality and creative bags for the African market. “There are already hundreds of tailors in the dress-making field. But there is a big opportunity with bags because of the wide market. If you get this skill of making quality bags, you will be more advantaged since you know more than just dress-making.”
There are still many partners who will join the program as instructors and trainers. We are delighted to open this door for our beneficiaries. We believe that it will take them a step closer to achieving financial stability and earn them a space in the greater fashion and design industry.