These Lidia Room items are sold through EastARM and Baker & Sons Safari Co.
There are a few ways to purchase an original Lidia Room product. You can refer to our bookings to see where the mission will be visiting next at EastARM.net/Booking, or email us at projects@eastarm.net.
The Lidia Room is narrow and many windowed, it runs along the back side of the Rufiji Lighthouse. If you peered through the screen you would find three treadle sewing machines lining each long wall, staggered so a body can weave its way between the machines, six in total. The front of the room is open, colourful Kitenge fabric has been laid out on the swept floor for cutting. At each machine is a small wooden chair. Seated at each chair, deftly working each machine, with bare feet and skillful hands is a young Rufiji woman. She has been trained as a seamstress and works to provide for her family, most often, the sole provider for herself and children. On our work days, the door of the Lidia Room is open for these women to come and sew, they are paid weekly for every bag and apron that they create from our patterns. These beautiful crafts are sold through EastARM and Baker & Sons Safari Co. We provide the machines, fabric, tools and thread; they provide the time, skill and colour combinations for each unique item. Through the Lidia Room these mothers are better able to feed, school, house and clothe themselves and their children.
Messenger Tote
The Lidia Room bag is a medium sized, fully lined shoulder bag with a large flap which closes over the top, a large outside pocket and a wide strap for comfort. Each bag is unique in its combination of Kitenge patterns. Fabulous for use as a purse, lunch bag, Bible bag or small tote, our bags have been hand-made by one of the Lidia Room gals and makes a lovely gift.
Kitenge Apron
Our sweet aprons are both colourful and serviceable. They would easily fit any sized cook or baker, we even have a child size for a mommy and me set. Each apron is unique, with the fabric selected from our collection by the Lidia Room gal who personally created it. It has a halter strap which can be shortened to fit, two pockets and ties around the waist.
Men’s Fashionable Ties
COMING SOON! These ties will be hand-stitched using our signature Kitenge fabric. A modern cut with an international flare, evoking feelings of africa, safari and exploration. Naturally, each tie is one-of-a-kind; the wear is both fun and sophisticated, in support of a mission reaching the women of the particular river in the Selous, Tanzania.
Lidia Room Girls
Husna is a thirty-year-old woman from our village, Mloka. Out of high school, Husna married and had a little girl. A short time later, Husna’s husband left her to care for her daughter as a single mother. After struggling for many years, in 2018 Husna had an opportunity to leave the village and attend sewing classes. She takes in small sewing jobs, working on the front porch of her parents’ home. It is a challenge for Husna to provide for herself and her daughter. She desires that her little girl will have a hopeful future.
Hasira is a thirty-two-year-old Rufiji woman. She is married and has three children, two sons and a daughter. Hasira left school and began sewing at thirteen years old. Hasira works from home taking in sewing jobs, her husband is a private safari tour guide but his work is very unsteady. Hasira and her husband rent a small mud home in the village but they have also purchased property in the village and plan someday to save enough to build their own home. Hasira hopes to be able to afford to send all of her children to high school.
Zulfa, a thirty-two-year-old Rufiji woman was orphaned at the age of ten. She passed her high school entrance exam but there was no money to allow her to go. She began sewing at a young age and received a 6-month training course from Islamic missionaries. After her second son’s birth in 2010, Zulfa’s husband abandoned them. Zulfa has worked in the military and as a cook to support herself and her two sons, but sewing is her passion. She has a small shop in Mloka village selling her dresses and she works as a mentor to our newer seamstresses.
Kitenge is simply iconic Africa! Bright colourful patterns are transferred onto 100% cotton fabric in the traditional wax dying technique called batik the result is a distinct melding and streaming of the vibrant colours that is just as bright on both sides of the fabric and virtually unfading.
Although Kitenge is etched into the African history and culture, it originated in Indonesia and was brought to Africa by foreign soldiers who began to import it as the local people fell in love with it vibrancy and durability. Before long, Dutch traders and investors began to produce Kitenge authentically in Africa. This allowed African culture, politics and religion to be infused into the patterns. Each pattern has meaning, whether tribal, familial, religious or political. Kitenge is not simply African, it is Africa.
