Healing Arts
Healing Arts is a crafts production studio near the hospital where women who are awaiting fistula repair surgery can learn valuable skills before returning home. From the HEALAfrica blog:
This new program was begun in September 2006 to support women recovering from fistula repair in improving their income-generation skills. They are making and selling skirts, tops, bracelets, placemats, baskets and baby layettes.
Before Healing Arts, most of the 120 women waiting for or recovering from fistula surgery were hopeless and wandering. If a woman returned home with nothing to show from her time away, she would continue to be looked upon as a worthless.
With the skills and income they gain from the program, the women who come here to heal (physically, emotionally, after horrific experiences) have a chance to start over when they return home. Here’s Dada, working on a purse using one of those awesome, foot-powered, built-like-a-tank singer sewing machines:
And here is Francine, showing Desiree a wrap skirt:
I got a shirt, today; the most Congolese one I could find. My guess is that I’ll have few occasions to wear it, back home. But at $10, I couldn’t resist. Francine took a photo for me:
In fact, I took a lot of photos and wrote down the prices of various things that the women had put on display in the showroom. They make really nice clothing and woven purses, baskets, and mats. Here’s my limited-time offer; put in an order in the comments (or send me an email.) I’ll spot you the cash and bring you back whatever you want. Think of it as free credit and delivery. It’s for a good cause, and the prices can’t be beat. You have less than a week, or until my suitcase fills up. I already have an order for 40 bracelets 
See the impromptu “catalog,” after the jump…
A few photos are below, so you have some idea of what’s being made. Scroll to the bottom for a nice, itemized price list.
Here some shirts and skirts ($10) and a bracelet ($1):
Here are some purses and bags ($5)
Here are the woven items. Mats ($7), bowls ($5), placemats ($10 for 4), coasters ($3 for 4):
Here is a bad photo of these lovely images done completely in carefully cut and arranged banana leaves ($5-$10):
And here’s the whole price list:
HEALing Arts
PRIX / PRICES
Sacs/Bags …………………………………………………………………………………………. $ 5
Chemises/Shirts …………………………………………………………………………. $10
Pagnes/Wrap Skirts …………………………………………………………………. $ 7
+ Matching scarf . $10
Jupes/Skirts …………………………………………………………………………………. $10
Fichus/Scarves ……………………………………………………………………………. $ 3
Vêtements pour enfants/Children’s outfits ……. $ 5
Bracelets en Matériel/Fabric bracelets ……………. $ 1
Poupées/Dolls ………………………………………………………………………………. $ 3
Images en Feuilles de Banane/
Banana Leaf Pictures L …………………………………. $10
M …………………………………. $ 7
P/S ……………………………. $ 5
Porte-monnaies/Purses ………………………………………………………. $ 2
Sous-plats/Placemats (4) …………………………………………………. $10
Sous-verres/Coasters (4) …………………………………………………. $ 3
Mattes tissés/Woven mats L …………………………………. $ 7
P/S ……………………………. $ 5
*Avec matériel, le prix est réduit à $3.
*With pre-purchased, self-provided fabric, items are reduced to $3.
Related Posts:
- Piri Piri Explosion (September, 2007)
- Cheap Housing (January, 2008)
- The Rusalka Cycle (November, 2005)
- William Kankwamba, Malawi Maker (July, 2007)
- No ID (June, 2006)
September 18th, 2007 at 7:49 am
what a fabulous idea, that blue and green shirt is lovely – something like that i would love. thanks for helping us support them!
September 18th, 2007 at 8:48 am
hi eric! this is an awesome thing to do. I really like the brown and white bag (with the grid and star-ish designs) and the blue and white skirt at the top (in whatever colors). thanks!
September 18th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Awesome. Thanks, guys. I also got half a dozen orders by email, and people forwarding this message on to their friends, so I’m going to have quite the order. But I’m leaving all the computer gear I bought here, so I have plenty of space for stuff to bring back. I’ll be a bona fide smuggler, if the orders keep coming in
September 18th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Hey Eric,
Im liking those bags, how about the green and red one next to the white and brown star patterned bag?
The all red one is cool too, Ill take both if available (1 of ea)
+)
cheers
dabu
September 18th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
No problem, Dan.
September 19th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Hey Eric, This is AWESOME! I’d like a wrap skirt like the one in the picture to give to my wife. The blue and white fabirc with the mandala star is sweet, if you have to go with a different fabric/pattern that would be fine.
See you at the tower soon.
Benji
September 19th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Gotcha, Benji. You all should have seen the ladies’ faces, yesterday, when I rolled in with my order. I think I cleared out a third of the showroom
September 21st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
I would love a bracelet, something with black maybe. (get the smallest one you can find) Also those baskets with the lids are super handy. I had a few from Kenya that I loved that got lost in one of my many moves..oh and I would love a scarf too!
September 21st, 2007 at 9:38 pm
oh, and thanks for offering to bring back such beautiful crafts for such a good cause. AD