LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On a seasonably chilly morning in Louisville, Tamjeed Zaidi sets up a table in front of Sunergoss Coffee's Beechmont location.
What You Need To Know
- "Fiberworks" program helps refugee woman make money through crafts
- 80% of sales stay with the women, 20% supports the program
- Louisville has one of the largest refugee populations in the country
- Americana World Recourse Center helps connect and support immigrants and refugees
On the table is an assortment of handmade crafts and clothes. Hand-knit scarves and stocking hats are exactly what people needed during Kentucky's sudden and unwanted dip into below-freezing temperatures.
On that same note, the table also features plate warmers and teapot cozies. Not only is everything handmade, but it's also from more than a dozen immigrant and refugee women living in Lousiville.
“Mostly they are refugees, immigrants from different countries," Zaidi explained.
Zaidi is originally from Pakistan and the instructor of "Fiberworks," a program offered at the Americana World Resource Center located on Louisville's south side.
The pop-up also offers traditional styles of clothing from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Each item includes a card stating the name of the woman who made it and where they are from.
A quick scan of the table, and you'll see the artisans are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, India, and Zaidi's native Pakistan. A majority of the proceeds, 80% to be exact, go to women, and the other 20% go to the Americana Center.
“And we provide everything to them. They don’t have to bring anything, fabric, thread, yarn, anything," Zaidi explained.
Since so many different countries and cultures are represented, Zaidi says often women in her class will show her a new style they can try to make.
Different women, they are coming from different countries...If they have something exciting to share, we learn that thing and we try to make.”