Dorcas Designs in Guangzhou,China recruit workers that are disabled, mainly ex leprosy patients. They make beautiful quilted bags of their own design and have started on trimming from their wardrobe full of left over fabrics.

Last night was the first joint Hopetees and Dialog sample sale that made for a chic bohemian party. By 8pm the place was so heaving, people could not get in.... So the party continued outside. The Brunch Club's open french doors and ambiance of home comfort, along with delicious canapes and wines made for a great atmosphere of browsing, catching up with friends and hanging out.

Interestingly, South China Morning Post had freatured that very day a one page article on (non)progress of rebuilding in Nias, 3 years after the 8.7M quake. Good thing we are still raising funds for that particular island with one mens and one ladies design. The Quiksilver sponsored versions sold out a long time ago...moneys delivered and spent on agricultural projects on the island.

Thank you to Lilian of the Brunch Club and all our loyal customers and supporters...

December 2007.
The sewing school at Vinh Son 1, Kontum, Vietnam, our biggest producer of trimming. There are 47 students from the surrounding villages in the school. Im here with Sister Pauline who runs it, and Blenh, a sponsored student.

And with Ninh,  co ordinator for our project at the sewing school.

Last Christmas, I (cassandra) visited an orphanage in the central highlands of Vietnam with my good freind Amy who designs dresses for Woolworths in Cape Town. There is a sewing workshop attached to it where the older girls can learn skills. I showed them some bags and taught them how to make the trimming. When I came back the next day, they had made more than 200 meters of trimming! They have since shipped over 1000 meters and Im going back this Christmas to see how they are doing.

Girls in this area, populated by the Montagnard villagers, have little option but to work the fields as kids. The sewing workshops provide a way out of this by offering livelihood skills and empowerment. With our fundraising Hopetees "100 sewing machines" we raise funds for machines in these workshops.

The Love Multi Culture group of low income Pakistani immigrants makes our trimming and brocade bead necklaces. We love visiting them as there are often a number of kids in tow...Plus they're really good fun! The trimming is made from the leftovers of Punjabi suits that they make themselves.

Our Hong Kong fair trade network started with this group, after meeting the ADPLSSC NGO (for community regeneration) at the WTO fair trade fair (2004). They are based in the Sham Shui Po old texile district of HK, where the  population has the highest percentage of elderly people. The women in our group lost their jobs in the rag trade factory exodus to China but hung onto their machines.

The ladies SuiKam, Yung, Fa, Fan, KamLan, and SoPek are our goto group for samples and short orders. They produce trimming, our wood handle bags and triangle clutches, the animal purses and some necklaces.

 Home of the four fold trim...............

working it out at Linda's tailor shop, Kuching, Borneo, march 2006.