Sewing training sessions held for women in Erbil’s Rawanduz
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A group of female employees at a carpet-making factory in Erbil province’s Rawanduz are holding various training sessions to teach other women to sow carpets, a work that mainly consists of sewing by hand.
Most of the women interested in learning are beginners and are interested in pursuing it professionally to further expand their businesses.
The sessions are held by the women working at Rawanduz Sewing Factory who say they are aiming to give back to the community by teaching others.
Mzhda Kamal is a graduate of the Institute of Fine Arts and is currently learning to make carpets.
“It has been two days since I started the training session, but it is easy for me comparing to the others because I studied the basics from the institute of fine arts,” Kamal, a seamstress in Rawanduz, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
Kamal added, “It is easy for me, I like the job and I want to continue.”
The history of Rawanduz district in the field of art also influences the work of this factory. Workers use computers to make patterns and come up with textures but then make the carpets by hand.
It takes around eight days to finish one carpet. So far, they have sold their pieces within the Kurdistan Region, but they are trying to promote their pieces to sell them outside too.
“So far, hundreds of handmade carpets have been produced here, and we sell them in two ways,” Khoshawi Ali, Director of Rawanduz Carpet Center, told Rudaw.
“The first way is that we have the authority to sell the carpets directly from the factory and the second way is that we sell the pieces through exhibitions held in the region,” he added.
Rawanduz Carpet Center was established in 1971 and more than 100 female workers from Rawanduz have worked there since its establishment.
There are currently 27 employees and 73 more are needed to increase production.
Most of the women interested in learning are beginners and are interested in pursuing it professionally to further expand their businesses.
The sessions are held by the women working at Rawanduz Sewing Factory who say they are aiming to give back to the community by teaching others.
Mzhda Kamal is a graduate of the Institute of Fine Arts and is currently learning to make carpets.
“It has been two days since I started the training session, but it is easy for me comparing to the others because I studied the basics from the institute of fine arts,” Kamal, a seamstress in Rawanduz, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
Kamal added, “It is easy for me, I like the job and I want to continue.”
The history of Rawanduz district in the field of art also influences the work of this factory. Workers use computers to make patterns and come up with textures but then make the carpets by hand.
It takes around eight days to finish one carpet. So far, they have sold their pieces within the Kurdistan Region, but they are trying to promote their pieces to sell them outside too.
“So far, hundreds of handmade carpets have been produced here, and we sell them in two ways,” Khoshawi Ali, Director of Rawanduz Carpet Center, told Rudaw.
“The first way is that we have the authority to sell the carpets directly from the factory and the second way is that we sell the pieces through exhibitions held in the region,” he added.
Rawanduz Carpet Center was established in 1971 and more than 100 female workers from Rawanduz have worked there since its establishment.
There are currently 27 employees and 73 more are needed to increase production.