By A. Jamaa | Smart Muslim
Scars from weaving needles, beading sweats from sheer hard work, and their insatiable commitment to earning a decent livelihood are dominant hallmarks of the struggle of women from the Barwaqo Weavers Society.
When the group was started in 2016, devolution was barely four years old and still nascent, with few options for employment, the overwhelming majority of residents survived on the edge. For women, the story was different.
In supporting their families, members of the group are breaking their backs. These days, they converge on a mat, sit in a circle, and dip their fingers, arms, and elbows in colorful threads and beads. They are passionate about weaving, their newly founded trade for earning a living.
These women from Barwaqo, a quiet native village in Wajir town, are tapping into tapestry weaving for income generation. They make colorful baskets, ladies’ bags, steering wheel covers, door mats, and various home interior decors for sale.
“Every Saturday we have a meeting,” says Quresha Abdikheir, the chair lady of the group. “We consolidate our work, bring together our artifacts, and make arrangements to market our products”
Their social entrepreneurship venture is part of growing efforts to widen the scope of employment opportunities while contributing to the development of women-led social economic initiatives in the poverty-stricken county.
“Our objective is to provide financial support to members of the group through a collective approach. As women, we have a lot of financial commitments, we have family bills, school fees, and medical bills to pay. We have come together to support each other and also help our families”
Diverse activities
Their income-generating activities are getting more diverse by the day, introducing more activities to solve the growing financial burden. Apart from weaving, they provide event public address systems and wedding catering to supplement their earnings.
Chairlady Quresha appreciates the role of women in community empowerment through mutual support among group members. “We enjoy our activities and how we support each other socially and financially. Group members are learning new techniques to earn a livelihood,” she said
The initiative emerged from their motivation to address the disproportionate economic impact on women. The absence of jobs and the increasing impact of cyclic droughts forced many women to toil in the local, mundane markets of Wajir for a living.
A larger percentage of women from the region go through the wringer, unable to get essential care and necessities, and have been forced to work for themselves and their families. In search of a better future, they are regrouping to change their fate.
In recent decades, droughts have increased the number of urban poor, while soaring poverty has forced an increasing number of women to help their households. Throughout Wajir, more and more households are relying on women to pay family bills.
“With this situation, we do not want to just sit at home and twiddle our fingers. We believe we have a responsibility to support our families because family bills are rising by the day,” the chair lady says
The group, with about 60 members, is now considering expanding its membership, increasing its activities and economically empowering its members amid increasing financial responsibilities. For the next few years, there will be a lot on their plate for them to deal with.
“We want this group to grow bigger. We hope to make more products and turn this initiative into a big company shortly,” says group member Sofia Billow, “We are trying our best to push this agenda further”
Admittedly, it takes a lot of energy to weave and more struggle to sell the product, giving members a host of bottlenecks to deal with. Nowadays, they are using social media platforms to market their products.
“As you know, weaving is not easy work. We are not selling the products on time due to poor market environment. These are some of the challenges we have to deal with,” noted Sofia.
Katra Abdullahi, Wajir East Cooperative Officer, said the government is helping organised women groups like the Barwaqo Weavers Society to empower and build the capacity of women.
“The objective is to make them resilient and create wealth. Barwaqo Weavers Society has a saving culture, and they normally lend themselves,” “says Katra “We provided them with startup kits. We also provided them with a public address system, chairs, and tents so that they could earn income from managing events.”
Although the group is toddling, members are nursing a brimming hope that one day they will own Wajir’s biggest one-stop decor shop. Until then, group members will keep meeting every weekend to increase their earnings, learn new techniques, and bring on board more women.
“We are hoping to run a big company in the future,” finally says the chair lady Quresha
