Our Quilts
Teaching women the craft of quilt making.
The Luganda Aye Twere (God is Able) Tegot-atoo Hill quilting project was developed to provide marketable skills and income to the women in the villages of Gulu District in northern Uganda. When this program started in 2011, the area we work in, Tegot-atoo Village was just transitioning from a IDP Camp to a settlement village. Many of these women and their families were struggling financially and had very little to call their own. Many were traumatised and suffering from hopelessness and despair after long periods of living in these camps. The quilt project, where we also included some Bible study not only provided them a skill but as their quilts sold and as people remarked on the beauty and workmanship it brought them confidence and encouragement as well as income. They discovered too that hand quilting could be very therapeutic and relaxing. Even today, there are many women who hate not having a quilt to work on.
We have approximately 50 women in the group at any given time with many traveling and walking many kilometres from surrounding villages
Each quilt is hand sewn and hand quilted and is uniquely made using a variety of African fabrics. A thin layer of batting is in the middle.
The profit earned from the sale of a quilt greatly adds to the family’s income and plays a significant part in paying school fees, paying for medical care and medicine, and in purchasing needed items for farming, such as seeds, tools and livestock.
A Sampling of our quilts and designs
Please visit our Quilt Gallery to see available quilts.
Our Quilters
Our women’s quilting program is going into its 15th year. Some ladies have been with the program from the beginning and some have just recently joined. They range in age from under 20 to over 60. We limit the group to 50 women at a time but as some leave the program, for various reasons, new women are welcomed to join. In our 15 years we have had 200 or more women come through the program. They have not only learned quilting skills but also basic sewing skills.
A thin layer of batting (or fibre as it’s called here) is used in each quilt.
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We come together once a week to plan projects and the women can pick fabrics, batting and other sewing supplies
The African fabrics we use constantly changes in designs and never two quilts use the same design with the same fabrics. This makes each quilt unique.
Quilting is new to Uganda with few women knowing this craft but many of these women have a great talent for it. They love quilting and some cannot manage to go long without a project to work on. Like many hand crafts it can provide a peaceful, relaxing activity that quickly erases the stress of the day. Many of these ladies are now teaching their daughters this craft.
Hand sewing and hand quilting a quilt makes it easier for the women to work on a project has her time allows without the need for a sewing machine. These quilts are truly handmade.