Sierra Leone: Kombra Project

This is a rural “Women's Economic Development Enterprise that helps women to utilize their skills and earn wages to improve their economic status. The women are producing traditional tie-died textiles into colorful pressed cotton tablecloths and napkins, bedspreads etc. to market locally and internationally online through social media and networking. The profits generated are put towards establishing scholarships for rural girls’ education.

12 comments

  • Lynn Patterson

    I really like this project because I have already ordered tie-died fabric from the women involved in the Kombra project and it is FABULOUS! I am amazed at the quality of the work and everyone that I show the products to loves them as well. These women work so hard and with very little in the way of tools, so I am very happy to promote their products. In particular, a lot of women in my community – Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada – are interested in supporting this initiative it promotes women’s economic opportunities and the education of girls! I urge Global Voices to fund this project. It will make a huge difference in the lives of women and girls in this locale and beyond.

    • Thank you Lynn for your encouraging comment and for your continuing support of the Kombra project since it inception. Your order will be here in Canada in May. Someone traveling from Sierra Leone to Canada will be coming with the Kombra product. As for now this is how the women are able to market their products to their international customers. Again on behalf of the Kombra women, thank you.

  • Joy Hanley

    I have showcased tablecloths, napkins, bedspreads and pillowcases (tie-dyed) from women producers in the Mayagba area of Sierra Leone, and I’ve been able to sell many of these products and send the funds back to the women artisans. I think that the Kombra Project will be a great asset to women and girls in Sierra Leone, many of whom lost males members of their households during the war. This type of economic development initiative will really make a difference in the lives of women and girls in Mayagba and will have positive spin-offs throughout Sierra Leone.

    Excellent idea CDpeace!!! I love your work. Keep it up!

    • Thanks Joy. I am looking forward to see the Kombra table cloths on the tables of your new restaurant that will be opening this spring. Thank you for been an advocate and fundraiser for cdpeace and the Kombra project.

  • Trudy Delorey

    What a wonderful opportunity for these women to become “visible;” to not only connect and share their talents and experiences with others in ways that would not be possible without technology, but also generate an income to provide directly for themselves and their families.
    Amazing educational and economic opportunity.

    • Thank you Trudy for supporting this project. As a women yourself and a mother of 2 girls, you know how important it is to give support to women through educational and economic opportunity. Education and economic power is a great strategy for the women and girls to get out of the vicious cycle of oppression, abuse and injustice. They will be able to make informed choices about their lives. And technology has made an initiative like this possible.

  • Susan MacKay

    I enthusiastically support the Kombra project, an important economic initiative that invests in the lives of Mayagba community members, especially women, in the promotion of gender equality and economic and educational empowerment. The investment in this project goes beyond economic benefits; funding this project is an investment in education, in livelihoods, in the betterment and empowerment of the lives of women, and in the future of all community members. Let us invest in and support the beautiful Kombra women so they can continue to create, nurture, and transform their communities.

    • Thank you Susan for your support. As you are familiar with the work of Dr. Moses Coady, this project will help women especially in the rural communities to become “Masters [Mistresses] of their Destiny”. I am very pleased with the demonstration of support from the Canadian women. This is great for women to learn from each other as technology has made it easy for us.

  • Rachel Fraser

    This is an inspiring and empowering initiative – women and girls will benefit hugely, as well as, the community. I completely support this excellent opportunity, the Kombra Project.

  • The Kombra Women’s Project has made a great difference to the lives of the women of Mayagba and its environs. Through this women-led and women-owned initiative, women are beginning to develop a spirit of self-reliance, trust in themselves and confidence in their ability to improve the quality of their lives. This project has enabled them to develop a cooperative enterprise that provides them with the income they urgently need to feed and educate their children. Through the Kombra Proect, the women have got a source for healing the wounds of the war because the project has taught them negotiation skills and alternatives to violence. As Acting Director of cdpeace, I would like to support such a viable and timely project. The project has great potentials to share the cultural heritage of Sierra Leone the women have developed over the years.

    • Thank you Mohamed for your motivation and for the support you are giving to the Kombra women. I am really happy that the Centre for Development and Peace Education (cdpeace) in Sierra Leone is committed to support the Kombra Project by providing to the women the technical support and the supervision that is required to run and sustain their business.

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