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CAMA CRAFTS
WHAT IS CAMA CRAFTS?
CAMA Crafts is a self-help, non-profit handicrafts project which has operated in Laos since 1990. Currently more than 400 Hmong and Lao women in more than 20 villages have been trained to produce crafts using their traditional patterns and skills. These crafts are principally sold in Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the USA. CAMA Crafts is located in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (LAO PDR).
HOW DO THE PRODUCERS BENEFIT?
CAMA Crafts helps producers earn a living without the degradation of welfare. Income-producing work for women in developing countries is rarely available. CAMA Crafts provides work which allows women to use their traditional skills while at the same time allows them to care for their families. An estimated 70% of the women who sew for CAMA Crafts provide the only cash earnings in their families. The money earned from handicrafts is most often used to send children to school and to buy supplemental food and medicines. Cottage industries such as CAMA Crafts foster family unity by decreasing rural unemployment and subsequent migration to urban centers. By providing markets for handicraft products CAMA Crafts helps to preserve traditional cultures, their skills and unique designs.
WHAT KIND OF PRODUCTS DOES CAMA CRAFTS PRODUCE?
CAMA Crafts strives to preserve the traditional needlework skills of the Hmong and Lao women such as the Hmong applique, cross-stitch, embroidery and batik.
HOW IS CAMA CRAFTS FUNDED?
CAMA Crafts is a non-profit project of CAMA Services Inc. For each craft item that is sold, approximately 40% of the sales price goes to the producer, 30% for raw materials, and the remainder pays for the CAMA Crafts national staff. The remaining expenses for administrative costs and expatriate staff support is funded by grants given by private funding agencies and individuals.
JOIN WITH US IN THIS WORK.
CAMA Services in Laos has built schools, built clean water projects, teaches English as a Second Language at the Bank of Laos and is currently planning a Micro-Economics Project and a Mother/Child Health Project. Please join us in the work of CAMA Services in Laos. For more information please contact: Carol Ashenbrenner, CAMA CRAFTS, POB 4556, Vientiane, LAO PDR.