Quilting

The quilt project was the first project Susie Hart started in Tanzania, when she arrived to start work with the Diocese of Ruaha in 2002. The Mothers Union - which is a world-wide fellowship of mostly Anglican women, who get involved in many areas of ministry and service in their local communities around the world - were looking to start an income-generating project for some of their more poverty-stricken members. A local hotel owner happened to see one of Susie's colourful patchwork quilts whilst visiting her home to discuss paper products, and immediately commissioned 40! When she accepted the order she hadn't actually started teaching the Mothers Union group how to quilt yet, so she hoped they'd pick it up quickly! Fortunately they did indeed, and after that initial order demand has never waned. The same group of 10 women continue to sew the quilts in their own homes, and bring them to Neema Crafts each week to be sold. They receive a good wage for their labour, which has made a huge difference to their families' standard of life, and a small overhead is added to cover the running costs of Neema Crafts shop etc. All the other patchwork products, such as bags and cushion covers, are made by people with disabilities at Neema Crafts itself.