Women's Tailoring Cooperative 

Conakry

These six girls are the first graduates from the sewing school and have formed the first Tailoring Cooperative. With your generous donations, the studio has been rented in a bustling commercial district in Conakry, and the six newly purchased sewing machines will provide  each graduate with an opportunity to work. 

These women are now learning to manage their own tailoring business as a group, and are earning a living in their field. 

Women in Guinea, and across the developing world, often spend more time doing unpaid housework than going to school or earning an income and livelihood. According to a UN Women Empowerment study, women devote 1 to 3 hours more a day to housework than men; 2 to 10 times the amount of time a day to care (for children, elderly, and the sick), and 1 to 4 hours less a day to market activities. However, evidence from a range of countries shows that increasing the share of household income controlled by women, through their own earnings, changes spending in ways that benefit children and results in faster economic growth. When more women work, entire families benefit, and economies grow. 

Watch a brief video about the cooperative here: