spinning

Ethiopian women have a long tradition of spinning cotton on drop spindles. In fact, a women’s ability to spin very fine and consistent cotton could greatly influence how ‘marriageable’ a young girl was. Spinning skills are still very important and most rural and urban women spin at their homes for extra income.

Eri silk is easier to spin than cotton on both a drop spindle and spinning wheel. Sabahar hires 20 women to spin silk at our workshop and more than another 30 women around Addis Ababa to spin their homes. These women make a good salary that they can live on and with which they can support their families.