Northern Aleppo countryside – Dijla Khalil – North-Press agency
In Sardam camp, near the village of Tel Sosen in the northern countryside of Aleppo, about twenty women work in a sewing and handicraft workshop. The workshop aims to economically empower women and improve the income of families who were displaced from the Afrin region during the Turkish invasion in March 2018.
According to those in charge of it, the project does not currently aim to achieve big profits, as it intends to provide clothes for women and children in the camp at lower prices than clothes in the market, which the displaced people are unable to purchase due to bad economic conditions and the high prices.
Afrin IDP Nada Ahmed, who resides in the northern countryside of Aleppo, said that she had a dress tailored at the workshop in Sardam camp because it was cheaper than those in the market, pointing out that “the prices of the workshop are suitable and the sewing is good.”
Horya Mustafa, the workshop manager, told North-Press, “We fled from Afrin and stayed here without work. We decided to rely on ourselves and not anyone else.”
The workshop consists of two main sections, one for sewing and selling clothes, and the other for handicrafts related to clothing decoration. There is another section for training women to sew in order to provide more job opportunities for them inside the camp, according to Mustafa.
"We are content with a small profit, no more than 100-200 Syrian pounds per piece, so our goal is only to provide clothes at reasonable prices without looking for a lot of profit," Mustafa added.
The workshop opened in early March, with the support of the Women's Council, a women's organization active in North and East Syria, who provide sewing machines in addition to allocating space to establish the workshop in the camp, according to the project manager.
Sabiha, and IDP from Jinderis in Afrin who works as a dressmaker in the workshop, said, “I have been working here to help my husband support our family. I have been working in sewing for more than 7 years, and I am also helping train other women here in sewing.”
Badia Hamdoush, a worker in the handicrafts section who was displaced from Kafr Janah village east of Afrin, indicates that she is working here to become self-reliant. “We all want to work to secure our livelihood,” she added.
The project started with a small capital and the female workers in the workshop share the profits and losses. They seek to compete with the goods in the markets, so each worker earns approximately 60,000 Syrian pounds per month, or 36 US dollars.
Women from Sardam and nearby camps, as well as customers from the villages surrounding the camp, usually came to the workshop due to its low prices.
The workshop currently is adopting a regulatory plan to avoid crowding and spreading of the new coronavirus. Six women rotate every week to work, implementing the principle of physical separation and public safety measures.