Accessories find niche in U.S. fashion market

Freda Mukarumongi is one of the master weavers at Gahaya Links. She and her daughter travelled for about an hour from her village in Kayonza to come to Kigali for a two-week training course.

The 47 year old will return to her village having learnt of new designs, colours and products for the season.

Each season follows the market trends and requires intensive training for the weavers.

As a master weaver, who heads a co-operative of about 30 women in her village, Freda, with the help of her daughter will pass on the knowledge she has learnt at the training in Kigali.

Each of the village co-operative sends two to three weavers to Gahaya Links headquarters in Kigali, who in turn train others back in their villages.

The trainees come to the centre when there is a new product and orders for the company.

The traditional weaving technique is practiced across the continent but the original Rwandan designs and neat finishing make these products unique.

Weaving has been a part of the Rwanda culture for centuries, passed on from generation to generation.

While weaving in the past brought together women to provide for the needs of their families, today it is used to heal the painful wounds of the genocide, literally weaving a formerly divided nation into a new and unified country.

Rwanda’s coat of arms features a handcrafted basket to emphasise the central role of weaving in the society.

"The weaving technique is still the same old traditional one. We have modified it to make finer, neater and better quality products. We have also tried to make it easier for the women who are engaged in it," said Joy Ndungutse, chief executive officer of Gahaya Links.

Weaving has for centuries been used for making baskets for home use, using sisal fibre, banana fibre, raffia and sweet grass.

A major improvement from the past is that the raw materials are now dyed with natural plant pigments or tea leaves as well as commercial dyes, but the designs remain unchanged.

The process of weaving is time consuming with much attention paid to detail required of each weaver.

Gahaya Links still uses mostly African local natural raw materials like sisal fibre but it is not only the thread, hook and loop, it is now complemented with the modernity demanded by end users.

Every year, the company ships four 40ft containers to the US before winter sets in and just before summer.

But filling the container, with products as small as earrings, necklaces and bangles for the fashion industry, is no easy task.

The containers are destined exclusively for Macy’s Inc, one of the biggest retailers in the US with more than 800 department stores.

Gahaya Links products are still sold in only seven of its department stores.

Next year, the consignment will grow to supply 30 stores and venture into new markets.

"In 2010, we shall conduct a new marketing campaign targeting the fashion industry, to work with top models and celebrities.

"We do a lot of research every season on the new trends and change the designs to suit the market. We then create products that are unique but can still be identified with our culture," said Janet Nkubana, managing director Gahaya Links.

Gahaya was founded by two sisters, Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana, 10 years after the genocide

The company fosters unity and reconciliation among Rwandan women and offers them a means to sustain their lives.

To compete with other African products in the market, Rwanda has to rely on its unique quality intricate handcrafts.

So the women have to be continuously trained to equip them with weaving and innovating skills.

So Freda and the women in her co-operative will next year have to find even more time to devote to weaving.

On a typical day, she wakes up very early to prepare porridge for her seven children and husband.

But she is happy, as weaving has added value to her life.

"Weaving has enabled me to contribute to my family. We have health insurance and the children go to school. My husband is also appreciative and supportive," she says.

Gahaya Links has restored dignity to these women, reducing poverty and checking domestic violence.

Men are appreciating that the weavers are the income earners in the family, making a contribution to the family, a a task almost exclusively preserved for men previously.

The East African