Basketry   |   Knitting   |   A Knitter's Story

EDImports partners with Rwanda Knits, the local arm of the non-profit Fiber and Craft Entrepreneurial Development Center (FACED), to create hand-loomed knit in Rwanda. Based in Montpelier, VT, FACED donates American-made, manually-operated knitting machines to Rwanda, provides training and suggests product designs appropriate for western markets. Rwanda Knits get its creative vision from Cari Clement, former president of Bond America, the manufacturer of the home knitting machines.

Knitters in Rwandan refugee camp. Photo, Farer July 2004

Guided by her passion for knitting and a determination to assist women in need, Clement worked with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) in Rwanda to donate 60 machines and numerous accessories to Rwanda in 2003. She also persuaded The Craft Yarn Council of America to donate more than 1,000 skeins of yarn. From this an income-generating opportunity was born and today there are over 500 machines in Rwanda and over 400 women -- mostly genocide survivors -- trained to knit, while many others hope to learn.