BACK IN NAMIBIA

I was in the USA for almost 6 months recently, helping with a new grand baby, enjoying the holiday season with children and grand children , and doing shows to support and promote the Namibian women in our project. 

Thanks to many of you, who purchased beads and jewelry, we were able to raise over $10,000 USA dollars to keep our project solvent!  There was a time when we could make enough sales in Namibia alone, but most of our sales in country are to tourists, and fewer and fewer tourists are coming to Namibia these days. We sell in country, only about 1/3 as much now, as we did in the pre-2011 days.

My beautiful model here is Asteria Shilongo. She is facilities manager at our community training center. She is as beautiful inside as out!

When I first realized I would be training Namibian women in hand craft, I must have thought there were 20 of me. I had so many ideas! And I brought tons of supplies to Namibia for all those hundreds of ideas. Back in 2003 and for a few years after, we were allowed two 70 lb. bags of luggage.
Weren't those the days!

Now that both my husband an I are in our 60's, we are looking at a bit slower pace and to spending more time in the USA with our grandkids, while still promoting the hand work of Namibian women.

 We are thinking 9 months in the USA and only 3 months per year in Namibia.( For  the past 13 years it has usually been 9 months in Namibia and 3 in the USA).

All that to say, I recently began going through all those supplies I brought years ago, and passing them on to other organizations who could put them to good use.

When I came to the ribbon box though, I had a hard time giving up all my never used plans for the ribbon.  I also still have lots of fabric I had thought to use for making hand bags.  My most dear friend here has just been diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, so I have been thinking head covers anyway. Over the weekend head bands just kept pouring out of my little garage work room.

Here's one with a crocheted band and silk ribbon flower

I got my crochet patterns here. I love her patterns !

Head bands are such instant gratification! A new one can be whipped out in a little over an hour. And they will be much less complicated to teach than hand bags.

Now the question is..........Is there a market?  Please give me some feed back.  Do you like wide or narrow? Is there a market?

I am also working on some children and baby sizes.

Here's the week end stash