7th December 2014

Collaboration with WTC

We are so happy to start working with the Women’s Training Centre (WTC) under BASE in Jessore.    BASE is a fair trade organisation and an umbrella for a number of very small organisations mostly run by Catholic Sisters.   They provide really invaluable help and assistance in very remote and difficult to reach communities along with other support.   These type of organisations have a long history in Bangladesh and are very well respected.

Image: the ladies of the WTC group embroidering the Pebble organic striped bunny

The WTC is organised by the Luigini Sisters and led by Sister Pierangela Sapetti.    I have loved their work since I first came to Bangladesh and I have organised many craft fairs in Dhaka over the years where I have always ensured they were invited to sell their work.   They do make the loveliest little drawstring bags which I personally use all the time.  I have the tiny ones in my handbag for organising odds and ends and then I have a larger size that I use for shoes bags and laundry bags when i travel.   I love having them with me all the time and then when people ask me about the embroidery of Bangladesh I always have an example on hand to show them.

Image:  creating the pattern of the bunny for the embroidery

But the collaboration we are now doing with the WTC is even more exciting than these bags, because the WTC are now embroidering the Pebble characters so that we can use them on products for the Pebble range.    The lovely organic striped bunnies are being embroidered in these pictures and then we are using these panels as the sides of our new toy boxes which are available under the Pebble range from January 2015.

Image: the Pebble striped bunny in progress as an embroidered character

The women at the WTC all have one hour of school, three days a week, run by their peers within the group, where they learn to read and write, plus basic accounting to manage their money.

Image:  a beautiful facility in rural Jessore where the babies come too!

I am sure that you are going to love the embroidery from Jessore just as much as I do and I’m really excited about bringing new work to this fabulous group and bringing this beautiful embroidery to the Pebble range.