The proud women of the Ambodigavo village sewing cooperative

The village of Ambodigavo (“At the Guava Tree�) in northeastern Madagascar’s Andapa rice farming basin (in the rural Commune where I live and teach), has a population of 200. The motivated mothers, daughters and grandmothers of Ambodigavo have formed a women’s sewing cooperative, to make their own clothing and try to generate income for their families.

These women are remarkably dedicated, but still have a lot to learn about sewing before they can produce clothing and other items for their families and for local sale.

The families of Ambodigavo support themselves through subsistence agriculture. They farm small-scale rice, beans, sugar cane, greens, coffee and vanilla. The average annual family income is 500,000 AR or $333 per year. There are 31 women in the Ambodigavo cooperative, who range in age from 18-60 years.

These women have requested assistance in organizing a two-week sewing seminar in their village. The seminar is a community-initiated idea, a project the women of Ambodigavo have wished to do for over two years now, but have not had the means to.

We’ve recently managed to pair the cooperative with many wonderful friends abroad, including two American sewing groups in Northern Virginia and Ithaca, New York!

Our sewing training should begin in September/October, and will doubtless prove a wonderful women’s empowerment project for the village!