![\"udruzene_7_s_vrzic\"](\"https:\/\/pro.ba\/app\/uploads\/2013\/11\/udruzene_7_s_vrzic.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBy Aida Mia Alic<\/p>\n
When Sevda Cibo returned to the Sarajevo suburb of Hadzici in March 1996 after spending most of the war as a refugee, she found her house in ruins with only a few walls still standing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With a family to support and no other means of earning an income to rebuild her home, she began using one simple skill \u2013 knitting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we returned to Hadzici after the war, everything was destroyed, but in time, I earned enough from knitting to rebuild the house,\u201d said Cibo, now 55 and a widow.<\/p>\n
Every penny Cibo has earned since then has been invested into the house she shares with her younger son, his wife and their son. Her other son lives with his wife and three children nearby. None of them works, so Sevda\u2019s knitting is the main source of income for them all.<\/p>\n
Cibo has found new support as a member of the Udruzene, Association of Women for the Preservation of Handicrafts, set up a year ago with about 50 female members from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Members produce clothing which they mostly design themselves, sometimes using patterns from France and Japan, the markets to which they then export.<\/p>\n
![\"udruzene_1_s_vrzic\"](\"https:\/\/pro.ba\/app\/uploads\/2013\/11\/udruzene_1_s_vrzic.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be able to survive without knitting today because my only other source of income is [my late husband\u2019s monthly] pension of 300 BAM [Bosnian marks; 150 euro],\u201d Cibo said. \u201cHowever, thanks to my knitting, both my children and I have enough\u201d, she added as she slowly crocheted a cotton necklace with black and white flowers, a present for her grandchild.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy older granddaughter is about to finish high school and her grandma has made her a necklace for a graduation ceremony. This is a unique piece. She\u2019ll be wearing something that no one else has,\u201d Cibo said proudly. \u201cMy grandson will start school in September. I will buy him everything he needs, a pencil-box, bag, notebooks, and clothes. Knitting enables me to help my family and it also makes me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Udruzene was founded by Nadira Mingasson, a young woman who worked in children\u2019s fashion during a long period spent living in France.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had always looked for a way to establish a link between France and Bosnia because I really wanted to participate in the development and reconstruction of this country after the war,\u201d Mingasson said.<\/p>\n
![\"udruzene_6_s_vrzic\"](\"https:\/\/pro.ba\/app\/uploads\/2013\/11\/udruzene_6_s_vrzic.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Many members of the association suffered greatly during the 1992-1995 conflict. Some were injured, spent time in prison camps or were sexually abused. Others lost family members or were forced from their homes.<\/p>\n
For many of them, crocheting and knitting mean more than just an extra income, but also contribute to psychological recovery.<\/p>\n
Fazila Bahtanovic is originally from Rogatica, a small town near Sarajevo, and lost a leg during the war, in May 1992. She also spent time in a Bosnian Serb-run prison camp in Sokolac before she fled to Sarajevo, where she still lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork is important to me because it helps me not to think about the past. Knitting relaxes me and it pays well, too,\u201d said Fazila, now in her fifties. \u201cI hope that one day I\u2019ll see our products on TV, worn by professional models.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mingasson says she herself has noticed how fulfilling her members find their work, boosted by becoming independent members of their households.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of women say they are happy to have their own money, the money they have earned due to their talent and knowledge,\u201d Mingasson said. \u201cOne of our members, whom we call Diva, is much happier than she used to be. Now she takes care of her appearance \u2013 she puts her make up on, dyes her hair, and has even fixed her teeth. Besides being a mother and a housewife, she is now proud to be an equal member of society who works and contributes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m knitting, I feel useful, and when I feel useful, I know what I am living for,\u201d said Azra Dedic, another association member.<\/p>\n
Dedic, now 42, lived in Visegrad before the war, a historic town in eastern Bosnia where Bosnian Serb forces committed numerous crimes against the non-Serb population during the war.<\/p>\n
She lost many members of her family there and was forced to leave her home in June 1992. Today, she lives with her family in Tarcin, a small town near Sarajevo, and rarely visits Visegrad.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband was imprisoned there and he is one of the few who have survived,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a new life here in Tarcin and I have decided to turn the page and stop thinking about the past because I cannot change anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Dedic says that she has found peace and happiness in knitting for Udruzene and still remembers how thrilled she was when she received her first paycheck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was circling around the bank with my colleague, waiting to hear that the money was transferred to my account,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThen we went to a supermarket and bought a lot of stuff. We didn\u2019t get much money, but we managed to buy a lot,\u201d she added with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking in the association means a lot to me. If nothing, I can cover my overheads and some of my personal needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bahtanovic, too, spent her first payment on food, but now manages to \u201csurprise her husband and herself with some clothing\u201d bought with the money she earns.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of us women have our own wishes and plans,\u201d she added. \u201cMy house is being refurbished and my priorities are to repair the steps, the kitchen and to get new curtains, and I hope I will be able to do all that with the money I\u2019ll earn by knitting.\u201d<\/p>\n
In early 2013, with the help of the Norwegian embassy in Sarajevo, Udruzene\u2019s handicrafts were shown at a fair in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a fair in Paris, I established contact with Japanese clients,\u201d explained Mingasson. \u201cThen we decided to take a chance and I went to Tokyo to participate in a fair with these women\u2019s handicrafts. And it paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The association has big plans, which include new sales exhibitions in Paris, Tokyo and Amsterdam, and will soon move into bigger premises, where they will be able to organise training and social events.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea is that we gather more women and increase our production,\u201d said Mingasson.<\/p>\n
Mingasson believes that it is vital to invest in these women through crafts training as it also boosts their confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that they realise that they can contribute to this society,\u201d she said. \u201cBut for Bosnian society to really change, the role of women \u2013 especially those who were the victims of war \u2013 has to change, too. Enabling them to work and feel useful is one of the best ways to achieve that.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article was produced as part of <\/i>Tales of Transitio<\/i><\/b>n project funded by the Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo. SCCA\/pro.ba is carrying out this project in co-operation with the IWPR and EFM Student Radio.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Association of home workers opens up foreign markets to boost their incomes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,59,57,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-projects","category-reports","category-tales-of-transition","category-tales-of-transition-2013"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n