The Isheagaciro Mwali cooperative

Founded in late 2012, the IsheAgaciro Mwali Cooperative is a small business consisting of 10 women trained at Centre Marembo in the art of sewing, dressmaking and tailoring. 
Alongside training - which included workshops in marketing, accounting and organisational management - we provided sewing machines and materials to give the cooperative solid foundations to build upon.  We also secured their new premises in an area where they are sure to see plenty of custom. 

We will continue to support the cooperative as they develop, and we look forward to seeing how they flourish in 2013 and beyond.  You can support this project too!

Sewing and Tailoring

The ability to support oneself is extremely important - particularly so in Kigali, where economic dependency, unemployment and the informal economy threaten to overwhelm many young people.

We provide 6 months of basic training in cloth-cutting, sewing and tailoring to young men and women, including those at our refuge.  They make various products, including:
  • Clothing: shirts, dresses, tops, hats etc.
  • Bags - including purses, handbags and rucksacks
  • Cloth earrings and hat

Our basic training is followed by a placement in UTEXRWA, a local textile and clothing company, to enhance skills and gain experience..  At the end of their placement, our women are presented with their own sewing machine, and we help them form and sustain cooperatives and businesses.  This project is open to young women from around the community, as well as those staying at our Abatuje Refuge. 


Products made in our workshop and by our associated cooperatives are available at Shop4Rwanda, as well as at the centre and at the stalls we run throughout the year in Kigali.  All profits return to the producers, helping them maintain a sustainable livelihood.