Author: Leslie Vryenhoek Aidemi: Women’s Creative Studios Association, of Kyrgyzstan, is an active member of HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia (HNEE/CA). Their mission, based on the traditions of their ancestors, is to develop innovations with the aim to increase international awareness about Kyrgyz craftsmanship. The women from the villages of Naryn region have been working together for...
Author: Leslie Vryenhoek Zhazgul Duishenova is a home-based seamstress working in Kyrgyzstan. She also takes in orders from middlemen. “With them, everything depends on the orders,” she says. The middlemen provide samples and the materials, but also take at least 50 KG Som for each item. Zhazgul l is the breadwinner for her family. Her husband has...
Author: Leslie Vryenhoek To reach Ruth Otieno’s home, you must traverse dirt roads with deep, wide potholes that force traffic to weave side to side. Cows and goats graze roadside and behind them, large gardens of vegetables and maize gleam in the hot sun. After parking and walking a circuitous route to avoid the furrows (ditches) filled...
