Patricia with her 2 groups of 40 delightful Berber students in the High Atlas Mountains 40 miles south of Marrakech in Morocco. It was necessary in most cases to teach the students the basics of threading a needle, holding a needle etc.
The venture was a great success against all the odds - a full report was featured in Issue 52 of Fabrications Magazine.
The project was a charitable assignment organised by Eve Branson (mother of Richard of “Virgin” fame). Richard’s aim is for his companies to donate 2% of their profits to surrounding areas in need of help. Not by simply handing out money but by helping the locals to develop skills so that they can help themselves.
In furtherance of this aim, Eve together with Virgin Unite (the Virgin Group’s charitable arm) is dedicated to assisting 3 villages near Richard’s luxury hotel which sits in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
Patricia’s objective was to teach her students how to make simple cushion covers, tote bags, and cosmetic and document bags of sufficient appeal and quality as to be sellable to tourists.
The project was an outstanding success in that each student proudly produced a satisfactory product in the 4 half days teaching of each group. This could only be the start and much more needs to be done for the students to develop their expertise.
Patricia’s return to Morocco - 4th - 10th June 2008
