Fashion For Social Change

Fashion is mostly attributed with luxurious labels, glamorous models and high-end designs. An organization called Supporting and Empowering Women (SEW) is making an impact on local Tanzanian women. 

How do you make an impact on local African women and their lives besides volunteering? This is the question 26 year old Jessie Smith criminal lawyer and social entrepreneur asked herself when she volunteered in a refugee camp in Africa and saw firsthand the plight of women living with HIV/AIDS. She now runs a non-profit organization that employs HIV+ women in Tanzania to sew handbags and clothes from recycled materials. 

SEW began designing eco- friendly bags in order to give these women meaningful employment and self-sustainment. They are famously dubbed ‘Sewing Mamas’ and SEW was able to hire ten of them, but lost a member of their team last year to HIV/AIDS.

What makes SEW so different is the use of local gunias or grain sacks that are mostly used to carry garbage or line local kiosks and shade Mama Mboga from the heat of the sun.  The organization relies on raw materials that are completely recycled, they use leftover fabric from local tailors and the sack bags. 

The Sewing Mamas are taught how to sew the bags and other items from local and international designers who volunteer. The women are not hindered from the creative process and they design products like blankets.

“We are always open to new ideas; our doors are open to everyone.” project manager Jackie Kwamy asserts, because majority of their products were taught to the women through volunteers. Trying to find local customers and targeting local tourists is a challenge because the bags are popular with international tourists and expatriates. “We want to include more locals in this process, so that they can be aware of the products and buy them also.’’ Jackie says.

Hiring women who are HIV positive sounds good on paper: giving them a chance to work, instilling confidence and providing healthcare.  However fighting stigma and ignorance is something SEW had to deal with. Working with a similar organization SIDAI Designs which employs Maasai women to make customized jewelry from beads, “The women wanted to separate themselves; they didn’t want to share cups or spoons with the Sewing Mamas because they attributed HIV transmission with sharing and interacting with them.”

Tackling social norms and practices wasn’t easy either, some women have to work from home in order to cater to their numerous responsibilities: looking after their children, the cattle, their homes and their husbands. This requires them to bring their work on a certain day of the week. The other women are single mothers with children who have no husbands to lean on.

SEW is an excellent illustration of how an organization can tackle challenges the 21^st century: HIV/AIDS, environmental awareness, female empowerment and creation of employment. They have brought sustainable change and meaningful employment within the context of complex relationships locally and culturally and have a clear understanding of what limitations the women face and how teaching sewing and designing skills can lead to female empowerment.