When we first met Odette in 2007, she was making thick, coarse silk wraps, used in Malagasy culture for burying the dead. However the market for these “lambandrazana” is pretty narrow and she was only able to sell one or two a month, barely enough to supplement the small amount of food she was able to grow for her family.
We were able to find a wider market and some contacts through whom Odette began to sell a variety of silk products she made, expanding into clothes and, in particular, scarves.
After an incredible amount of hard work, Odette now manages to sell enough to send her children to school and look after their needs. She has also been able to build her own house, so that she no longer has to live squeezed in to her parents’ house, with her entire family and many of her siblings.
She is also now president to the 350 women in this women’s weaving association, who we help in the research of outlets for their silk products, as well as working to find the best methods of silk production. This involves trying to reintroduce the native silk worm to the nearby Tapir forest so we can be sure of its protection and to help more women like Odette to expand their horizons.
We were able to find a wider market and some contacts through whom Odette began to sell a variety of silk products she made, expanding into clothes and, in particular, scarves.
After an incredible amount of hard work, Odette now manages to sell enough to send her children to school and look after their needs. She has also been able to build her own house, so that she no longer has to live squeezed in to her parents’ house, with her entire family and many of her siblings.
She is also now president to the 350 women in this women’s weaving association, who we help in the research of outlets for their silk products, as well as working to find the best methods of silk production. This involves trying to reintroduce the native silk worm to the nearby Tapir forest so we can be sure of its protection and to help more women like Odette to expand their horizons.
