Craft skills workshop aims to empower women, supplement income
KUCHING: In celebrating its 4th anniversary, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative ( YSEALI), in collaboration with social enterprises Artinsia and Heart Treasures Sdn Bhd, held a Craft Skills Workshop for women at the Lincoln Corner of the State Library here yesterday.
Twenty-four participants took part in the workshop and learned how to make paper bead necklaces and long leather wallets.
YSEALI alumni Alicia Ng, who organised yesterday’s workshop, said it was one of various community input activities held throughout Malaysia between Dec 1 and 10 as part of the anniversary celebration.
“The objective of the workshop is to share different craft skills with women in Kuching in the hope that it can supplement their income. We hope to empower more women and sustain functional crafts like the wallet, which is useful, as part of their skills,” said Ng when met at the workshop which was supported by the United States Embassy.
The paper bead training was conducted by intellectuallydisabled youths from Heart Treasures who are undergoing therapy and skill development, while the leather craft was led by Ng and Cynthia Chin.
Artinsia is a social enterprise which aims to help underprivileged women and women living in remote areas to supplement their income through artisanal skills, specialising in leather craft. There is also a special initiative, Artinsia for Paws, which supports healthcare and rescue of stray animals.
Each Artinsia item is uniquely handcrafted and custom made by a pool of women artisans whose skills are continually honed by Artinsia’s training programme.
Artinsia was founded this year, and 50 per cent of profits go towards charity.
Heart Treasures, formed seven years ago, helps special needs young people by training them in craft so that they can have salaried jobs as artisans. Once trained, they are capable of producing great and impressive artwork.
For further information, visit Facebook pages ‘artinsiaborneo’ and ‘hearttreasuressb’.