By Mohamed Hassan | BORESHA Project
She soaks it in a mixture of salt, hot water and dye for a few hours and, after rinsing it, reveals a beautifully patterned cloth that she hangs out to dry. This is another of her intricately designed tie-and-dye fabrics that have made her renowned in Dollow Somalia.
“I really enjoy my work with tie and dye especially when I wash the clothes and hang them to dry,” she says. “Tie-dyeing is based on the traditional art of folding or tying fabric to create resists that stop the dye from being absorbed into parts of the fabric, thereby forming unique patterns of color. I can use tie-dye to create a design on white fabric. Using the bucket method is a quick way to tie-dye several items at one time, I thank Allah for this opportunity to learn this skill for the betterment of my life” says Habiba
Meeting Habiba
We meet Habiba, sitting in her newly established business premise in Dollow, chatting with her for only a few minutes one will not believe the many hurdles she has had to overcome in order for her to set up her own independent and sustainable business. Dollow is a town in the Southern Gedo region of Somalia, it sits on the Jubba river near the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is among the least developed regions in Somalia with limited access to infrastructure and other services. There are therefore limited opportunities for people especially women. The BORESHA project is trying to mitigate this and has therefore introduced several interventions one of them being the Technical and Vocational Education and Training. Habiba enrolled in the Tie-dye training a few months ago and the results have been worth telling.
Habiba Muhumed is a 39 year old mother of 6 children who has recently graduated from Prestige college in Dollow with the support of World Vision through BORESHA project. She used to reside in Gedweyne village which is 37km North East from Dollow town together with her husband and children where they were leading a comfortable life, this was unfortunately disrupted by the 2011 famine that ravaged most parts of Somalia. She lost her livestock, home and worst of all her husband died on the same year due to illness. “That moment, that horrible moment 10 years ago, when suddenly from one day to the next my whole world came crushing down. I will never forget that feeling of utter helplessness, despair and disbelief as the realization dawned that my husband was no more and I was left a widow with six children to take care of and will never get to see their father anymore” says Habiba
Journey to Dollow
She moved to Dollow town to fend for her children whereby she used to undertake some manual jobs which included hawking women’s beauty products, clothes and perfumes in town, however the little profit she got from this was not enough to cater for the school fees of her children, food and even medication. “The feeling of not meeting the basic needs of your children is one I would never wish on any mother, it has been made worse with the demise of my husband, I was and still is the sole breadwinner of the family and I have no other option but to fend for my children regardless of the challenges, one thing I will never accept is for my children to sleep hungry” says Habiba.
Support
Through the grapevine she heard about the opportunity for the youth in Dollow to be equipped with different skills in the Technical Vocation and Education Training. With her desire and great determination, she was enrolled in Prestige College and took up a tailoring course. She was lucky that she was chosen as one of the trainees in Vocational education training skills where she enrolled. At that time her life took a turn for the better where she acquired new skills, learning how to sew clothes. Along the way she also learnt the tie-dye skill considering majority of the women in the area are Somali and dera is their choice of dress. Upon graduation she was provided with the necessary start up kits, business training and coaching, which saw her set up her own stall where she currently operates from.
Grateful
“Glory be to God, I got quality life skills training of which I believe it has helped me immensely and completely change my life, I have endured a lot and worked hard throughout and made it through the course successfully, I have started the sewing business, tie-dye and hired a small stall to work from, getting better money that enables me to cater for the basic needs of my family, my children are now going to school and are provided with three meals a day, I am grateful to BORESHA for the boost and I encourage them to continue with the good work and uplift more women who are in my past situation” says Habiba.
Habiba now sews and sells clothes for women and children, she purchases the materials from Mogadishu. Now her earning per month is around 400 USD depending on the market. She uses the small income from her shop to support her children and also make a few savings in case of a rainy day, the rest she invests in her business. She hopes to expand her business in to the neighboring towns and grown her brand beyond the Somalia border as well as gain more skills. There is no stopping Habiba, from here on it is only onwards and upwards for her. “I have put my time, energy and money in to this business, there is no way I am going backwards now, I know there will be challenges ahead but I have overcome bigger ones, this far I have come I am grateful to Allah” says Habiba.