Addis Bethlehem Multipurpose
Artisans Cooperative
Good Shepherd Sisters, Kebele, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
INTRODUCTION
In 2002 the members of the Bethlehem Multipurpose Artisans Cooperative were evicted from the Bethlehem Training Centre, (a legally held site) in order that a sports stadium be built in its place. Here at this center, over a period of thirty years, hundreds of women had graduated having mastered different income-generating skills such as sewing, embroidery, weaving and other textile handicrafts which helped to support them and their families. Over the following five years, the women of this cooperative have had to struggle in very basic and often adverse conditions to continue working. With the help of the Good Shepherd Sisters who began the Bethlehem project and misean cara who provided funding, the Cooperative now have their own building to use as a workshop, enabling them to develop and practice their skills in an environment that is spacious, well lit and contains proper ventilation and sanitation.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
The residents of the Kebeles live packed together between
plastered wooden walls and under tin roofs. The majority of their
homes are in a state of disrepair. Less than half the population
have access to a latrine and sewage flows uncovered through the
narrow streets and alleys. The fragile urban economy provides many
with only the barest subsistence. Women headed households which make
up one third of the total of the community, are the most vulnerable,
and it is women and children who most suffer the consequences of
poverty. Some are able to make a living selling firewood, dried
peppers or lentils, the most unfortunate have few options other than
begging and prostitution.
In response to this, thirty years ago the Good Shepherd sisters
began a project called 'Bethlehem' on the site which is now called
the Good Shepherds Sisters Centre in Addis Ababa. Their goal was to
assist young women in learning sewing skills and help support their
family through an income-generating programme. As a result of this
the women are now highly skilled in a variety of textile processes
such as weaving, printing and dyeing, embroidery etc. and their
products have been sold both locally and internationally.
Eventually the women seeking this training became so numerous that
it was necessary to move to a new location. The new building was
barely completed when word came from the Government that the site
would be taken from 'Bethlehem' and a new sports stadium would be
erected in its place. While searching for another workplace the
women had to work from home or in a plastic covered shelter. The new
building provides the sort of workplace that is required for a
skilled group to work with dignity as well as providing a safe place
to house their machinery.
The importance of the Bethlehem cooperative is further emphasized
when we take into account that Ethiopia's rank for Building the
Capacity of Women is only 134 out of 140. The women in Addis
Bethlehem Multipurpose are one of the few groups whose capacity has
been built. The fact that the women are experienced and skilled
artisans, that they formed the cooperative and continued to make a
living in adverse conditions shows their commitment and
determination to make it work. Because the new building has
electricity and water on site, they were able to install weaving
looms, industrial sewing machines, washing machines and ironing
facilities. They are maximizing space usage and also have office
spaces, a coffee/tea room, hairdressing facilities and an outlet
shop for sale of their goods. The cooperative in effect is not only
their workplace but also a place that offers a safe environment and
respite from other difficulties in their lives where the women are
free to be together just as themselves.
CONCLUSION
The Cooperative is proof of what can happen when people are determined to succeed. It is also proof that obstacles that can seem insurmountable are often not. With small financial assistance the Bethlehem artisans have a workplace that we can often take for granted here. Their cooperation however, goes beyond just being a 'place of work'. It is a clean, safe environment, a place they worked for and earned. It is also the place where they can continue to grow in capacity and so, dignity, a place where they have the opportunity and the freedom to fully become themselves.