EMPOWERING CREATIVE RURAL WOMEN THROUGH FASHION

“THERE IS NO TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE WOMEN” ? Kofi Annan. “Fashion is an extremely powerful form of talent; it shows the world who we are and who we’d like to be. With the kind of impact that the fashion industry has globally, it unites diverse cultures, ethnicities and nations. That influences millions and promotes acceptance of our individual identities and choices, empowering us to express our preferences and beliefs. It has the capacity to affect the society as a whole and is therefore an integral platform to promote social change. Fashion is such a huge part of our economy and involves more people than we think it does from producers to designers to retailers and even consumers. Empowering rural women to participate fully in trade and industry across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies. Many organizations are helping and conducting working clusters, or common-craft groups, that work together at one of their Common Facility Centers. The Common Facility Center is a technical, design, production, and marketing-support center where artisans can work in a congenial environment and benefit from education in producing high quality crafts. They also support to improve life of artisan through training, skill upgrades, design workshops, market linkages, arrangements with financial institutions, technical education, and awareness programs ensures a continuous flow of fair-trade of products into the international marketplace.