First Person: Stitching together a future in sewing following a deadly siege

A woman who fled her home following a terrorist attack in Marawi in 2017 is pinning her future on sewing and selling bags as part of a close-knit women’s cooperative, supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The Olango Sindaw Ko Kauyagan Producer Cooperative in Piagapo, a village in the hills above Lake Lanao, was set up in the wake of the siege of Marawi, in which terrorists affiliated with Islamic State attacked and occupied the city over a five-month period.

The group of 38 women includes 18 who fled their homes to Piagapo. 

One of them is Asnia Dalan who spoke to UN News at the cooperative’s workshop.

"I had no other choice to leave my home in Marawi when the city was attacked. I was very fearful and escaped with four of my children with just the possessions we could carry. Fortunately, my three other children were not living at home at the time. We walked for five hours to reach Piagapo."

I've got mixed emotions about that time. No one was expecting the attack, but when it happened, I lost everything that I had worked for in the blink of an eye. I used to sell sandals in the old market, but that business was destroyed when the terrorists came. I feel very angry about this.

I came to Piagapo because I have family here and I started farming land and growing vegetables as well as peanut and corn. 

The cooperative is made-up of displaced people like myself and also local people. We all get on very well and enjoy working together not just in the fields but also in our new sewing workshop. There is always laughter as we learn and work.

I found it easy to adapt to my new life here and now we have a close-knit community.

We were trained on sewing machines and now make a range of products including bags, curtains and bedsheets. We started off making sheets but have become more skilled and so are now making different styles of bags. 

Currently, my favourite piece is a green patterned bag that I made using traditional cloth. I like the colour as it symbolizes paradise and peace for Muslim people like me. It’s a good size and I think it would be useful for a mother to carry baby items such as diapers and creams.

We work in shifts taking it in turns to use the ten machines, but we are often interrupted as the electricity frequently cuts out. We are hoping to get a generator so we can work more consistently.

I prefer sewing to farming as I can stay inside and am protected from the sun. Farming is hard, so I would like to be able to make enough money to live on with sewing, but I’m not there yet.

My advice to anyone who wants to take up sewing as a business is to get trained and always try new designs. Then of course you need to keep on practicing to improve.

I have occasionally visited Marawi, but I don’t intend to go back there to live. My new life is here and I have more opportunities especially when it comes to sewing.” 

FACT BOX

The Olango Sindaw Ko Kauyagan Producer Cooperative is supported by UNDP’s Enhancing Food Security and Livelihood in Bangsamoro  project. The project, which supports and sustains peacebuilding and recovery, is funded by the Government of Japan. The project was implemented with several institutional partners, including the Maranao People Development Center, Inc., to empower communities through enterprise development. This initiative fosters sustainable livelihoods and create a solid foundation for lasting peace in the Bangsamoro.

This article was originally published on UN News.