Archives for February 2013

holding my breath

February 28, 2013 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

These are the lively and crowded streets of Bondo, Kenya. This town is 7km from Matangwe where I taught school and rug hooking for a month and over 60 km from Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya. I loved visiting Bondo — the market was full of activity with vendors selling produce and other goods. In the last post I shared pictures of the booths which lined the street with women (and a few men) sewing on treadle machines. The food market had any locally grown produce you could wish for — if you could afford it.

However, it only took a second for the bustling, lively shoppers to become a huge crowd blocking all traffic on the highway when a string of trucks and vans pulled into town with one of the ODM candidates. The candidate had a loud speaker system and he brought the crowd to cheers and jeers within minutes. It felt like it wouldn’t take much for this huge crowd to become a mob.

And now as it comes closer to March 4, election day, reports in the press of potential violence are becoming more frequent. No one wants a repeat of the violence of 2007. But I am holding my breath, worried about my friends as they face this event. The schools are closed for a week for the election. Let us all hope that the children and teachers can return to school next week unharmed by the corruption and violence that characterized the last election.

kenyan fabric finds

February 24, 2013 by Birdbrain 3 Comments

I love East African fabric. The women often wear several different pieces–on their heads, over their shoulders, tied as a baby carrier and worn as an overskirt. They are mesmerizingly beautiful as they walk or work in groups of colour. The large square pieces of fabric are called Leso, pieces of colour and design I was hoping to find.

The market in Bondo is filled with merchants offering an array of food and goods, including women in stalls working on treadle machines, surrounded by fabric. You can have an outfit designed and made especially for you and this is what many of the local women do. I am told that the top place to buy fabric is in Busia, on the border with Uganda, where the prices and selection are the best. But since the Ugandan officials wanted $50 for me to pass into their country for a couple of hours, I missed this chance. However, the Bondo market had lots of fabric to make up for my loss. Below are the seamstresses, each delighted to have her photo taken and show off her wares. Although they would have preferred to sew a dress for me, they happily sold me some fabric which comes in 3 meter pieces.

We also went to the Kibuye market in Kisumu, one of the biggest markets in Kenya. This is definitely more crowded and much dirtier than the Bondo market–and it is best to be accompanied there by someone who knows the terrain and the customs. It is a daunting place, but I had been last year and we were able to find the fabric stall once again. You can see the selection in the third picture. The prices here were lower than in Bondo and the choice greater. In the last picture are some of the pieces which I bought or were given to me–batiks and other lovely prints.

However, it was not until Nairobi that I found the Lesos I wanted. The Lesos are a bordered fabric and often have a Swahili saying on them. They young man I purchased them from patiently translated each one for me so that I would be sure to be purchasing something appropriate. The purple one pictured here says Love is like a flower; water it and watch it grow. Now who wouldn’t feel happy sporting that pleasant thought? The other messages were less romantic–the second purple Leso says, Trust a person’s actions, not his words. A sobering reminder, amid the colour and design.

Kenya report #4: the ultimate hooking class

February 22, 2013 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

My time in Matangwe, Kenya is over for another year. It was a rich time, a time of learning and teaching. I was delighted with the response of the young women to the idea of hooking mats. We met every afternoon at the Community Centre and the group had grown to 11 by the time I had to leave. Of course, in many ways we were just getting started. It’s one thing to learn how to pull loops, (a challenge in itself using hand cut t-shirts with no frame), but learning the level of quality required for selling takes longer. But that said, I came home with several pieces for sale and I left them all with additional pieces of burlap and plans for new mats. I am already friends with one of them on Face Book! I am hopeful that our connection and hooking production will grow.

Above is a picture of Alice, with the three pieces she designed and hooked. Below is Catherine, a new student who joined us the last week, being shown the techniques by Daisy. This is an example of the generous attitude which I met everyday and which made teaching this class so enjoyable. The afternoons were filled with laughter, but it was the underlying sense of mutual acceptance and support which was truly instructive. There is much to learn here.Below is Catherine’s piece after just one day, and the next day she brought it completed and ready for a trip to Canada.And here are some of the final pieces which I brought home with me.

Hooking progress: Kenya report #3

February 3, 2013 by Birdbrain 6 Comments

The hooking group is making great progress. Some are working on their second and third projects. We are runnimg out of t-shirts so they are bringing material from home. And we have found big rolls of jersey in dark colours in the supply cupboard. This will be great for backgrounds–and every rug hooker knows it is a comfort to have enough background.

Last week two groups of elementary students came to see what we are doing. The young women were so helpful teaching the children and the two teachers got a chance to try their hand at hooking. All the donated hooks were in use! It was a delight to watch.