Helping Tunisian women to weave their way out of poverty

This Network good news story was written by Chris Manktelow and originally posted on the BMS World Mission website in December 2024. Images used with permission from BMS World Mission.

In a remote, mountainside village on the edge of the Sahara Desert, a group of Tunisian women are using the latest photo editing apps to get the best shots of their handwoven rugs. Every detail counts when this rug could change your family’s prospects forever.

Women in Tunisia have been making rugs for centuries. Some are woven in blocks of colours. Others are created by making patterns out of knots, as if you were making a friendship bracelet. It's this type of rug that our Tunisian partner is training local women to make, to help them earn enough to provide for their families. Life in rural Tunisia can be difficult for women. Most women are not educated beyond the beginning of secondary school. Their expectations are to get married and have children, and many won’t ever be in the position where they could start their own business.

It’s in the face of such oppression that BMS World Mission’s partner in the country is teaching women the technical skills they need to create and sell rugs. They learn how to dye the wool and how to weave, but also all the financial and marketing skills needed to run and promote their business. The women who take part in the training are also given the opportunity to meet potential export partners, so they can sell their rugs abroad.

BMS mission worker Sophie* recently led a workshop on storytelling skills with 15 of the women involved in the project. She talked about why storytelling is important and how the women could tell their own stories. She also spoke about how to use social media, with a particular focus on how the women could use it to support each other and work together as a community.

“The women were really committed, really grateful for the opportunity and keen to seize it in a way that was special,” said Sophie. She was surprised by just how creative some of the women were. “I got questions about recommended photo editing apps that they could be running their pictures through, and I thought, ‘this is really unexpected.’”