Apologies

Long silence - the summer has been very busy!  I have been sewing and attending a lot of fairs, as well as other "stuff"!  Posts to follow - about to set up a lot to appear over the next days.  Hopefully I will be able to win back regular readers, and attract some new followers as well.  I have lots of tutorials in the pipeline, and some new designs in my head which I hope will become actual bags and maybe even tutorials at some point.

I have lots of plans too for my trip to Kenya in 2016.  I already have several people who have expressed an interest in coming with me to help the women of Utange set up businesses.  My "business startup fund" (held by The Sure Foundation to buy the resources and equipment for women to begin their businesses) already stands at over £1200, and I am hoping it will be nearly £5000 by the time we go.

I am really hoping for people who can:
- teach women crafts, including paper bead making, crocheting from "plarn" made from old t-shirts and carrier bags, sewing, and hopefully something utilising local resources such as coconut shells and palms.
-teach business skills to the women and help them to develop business plans.
- provide and teach basic literacy and ICT skills.
- teach some "mechanical" skills such as bicycle and sewing machine maintenance
- help the village to develop a cashew nut cooperative (I would like to provide a small processing plant at a future point)
- source and distribute solar lamps with recharging points (for phones) to the most needy homes in the village.

If these (or any other ideas) catch your interest, please get in touch.  If you know me, you will know my email.  If not, leave a comment on this post and I will get in touch.  You will need to fund your own trip - the cost from the UK will probably be about £1500 for two weeks.

And please pray!

Caroline