Mufindi Mats!

A fantastic recent visit to the village of Ikaning’ombe led to some great developments, and hopes for a bright future for one women’s group.

A group of women from the village have come together to create a new product for the Threads of Hope income generating line sold through our NGO. 22 round mats were sold to the organization by the group of entreprenurs that will use the income for a variety of important reasons. Some will be able to educate their children, others will be able to make much needed home improvements, and others will be saving their income to use as capital for a business at a later date.

One mother who came to mat collection day with her daughter, upon receiving her payment, jumped up and down and told her child proudly- “You’re getting a new uniform for school!”

These talented women couldn’t be more excited about the developments of the group, and they have big plans.

One idea discussed this day was to create a regular income through sales that could help them hire others to farm their fields, or help get all of their children through secondary school and on to college or university.  Some suggested they could pool their income together to buy land, plant trees, and have an income in the future on which they could depend.

The group continues to make round mats, and they are sold at a few outlets across Tanzania. The NGO is doing research currently on how to become a Fair Trade organization in order to get these mats sold regularly in stores in the US and abroad.

For now, they are excited Mothers making a difference in their lives through their own hard work and talent.