I was delighted to hear this week that the heddle looms we sent to Sri Lanka just before lockdown in March have been safely received (delayed due to Colombo airport total lockdown). They’ve now been set up by Women’s Development Centre (WDC) staff and the girls have started learning to use them and have made runners and scarves.
A girl in the refuge using the looms that we sent out
Krys has just sent a further parcel to WDC this week containing wool, further weaving instructions and other equipment to enable the girls to move to the next stage of their creative projects.
Just some of the items that the girls have made on the looms
Our short term aim has been to provide therapeutic activity for the girls, who are victims of gender-based violence, whilst they’re in the refuge. The long term aim is to help those who really enjoy weaving to make creative items as an entrepreneurial activity. The hope is that the items they make can then be sold to the tourist industry, once the industry gets up and running again, via the WDC shop in Kandy, via ETSY and even in the UK.
Thank you again to all who supported this project. It’s been fabulous to see how well the looms are being used and I’m excited to see more of what the girls are producing over the coming months.