Basket Weavers

A new year has begun and already started to fly by in Madagascar. Lots of exciting things have happened over the past few months, including a fabulous visit to Ampefy, Isalo National Park and Andasibe National Park with my family. My projects are starting to pick up and I have become most involved with the association of women basket weavers that live in a rural town outside of Ampefy. A few months ago, we received some funding from a group of Americans living and working in Tana (largely Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) to purchase raw materials for the women to scale up their production of weaved baskets, pocketbooks and wallets. They have gone through several trainings with Prosperer on topics ranging from basket weaving techniques to organizational management, however did not have the start-up capital to purchase the materials to start weaving. Additionally, the women are very poor, live in rural Madagascar and are limited in their access to microfinance due to a lack of collateral and high interest rates. Based on these limitations, it was very fortunate to have the group of Americans in Tana who are very eager to help current Peace Corps Volunteers and chose to support our project.

The trip to Tana to buy the materials was an experience in itself. I was in a meeting on a Wednesday afternoon when I received a call from one of the basket weavers saying they had found a ride and were leaving that evening. At that point I had no warning or made any preparations, assured by them we would have a place to stay with family members in Tana. Of course, upon arrival the one woman’s aunt had moved and was unreachable by phone, so we ended up staying with some friends of the family – I shared a bed with the two women from the association that had volunteered to go, as well as one of the younger girls in the family. They left the lights and the TV on all night, so instead of sleeping I watched Skyfall dubbed in French and dozed in and out. The family was incredibly welcoming, although the lack of sanitation combined with the crowdedness of Tana was slightly appalling – when I asked to use the bathroom in the evening, one woman showed me to a darkened alleyway outside.

The next day we woke up early to buy the materials, which was a huge success. We found everything we needed and I went back to Ampefy that same day, materials in tow. The women stayed an additional night to visit other family but I needed a good night sleep in my own, spacious bed! Over the course of the next few days, we moved the materials out to the women’s village, about 8 km away from Ampefy. Since then, we have held a meeting to share the materials between all 18 members as well as elect officials for the association to promote more effective leadership and management. Now the women are hard at work, weaving away after having set the goal of being ready to sell by the end of March for Easter when the masses descend on Ampefy for a long weekend. It’s exciting to see the women so motivated and even thrilled to have the opportunity to finally put to use all they have learned and to pursue an alternative source of income that holds promise for improving their livelihoods.

I have also become good friends with the Directrice of the local primary school in the village of the basket weavers. We have been working together to grow moringa, a plant with leaves very high in nutrients, and are starting to bring a school lunch program to her school. They already cook lunch for the kids twice a month, and the day I visited last week just so happened to be school lunch day. When I arrived, I was greeted by over 100 children singing, dancing and banging on their bowls with spoons, absolutely delighted by the prospect of eating lunch at school. They devoured vegetable soup and bread, and with this newfound energy chased me back down the road as I began my bike ride home. I always leave that place feeling happy and fulfilled, and it is no wonder why.