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The Vision
The community side of Knitivity includes the Bundle Up Project, a resources for hats, scarves, and other bundling needs for families and communities in need. The original Bundle Up New Orleans was developed quickly when it was clear that hundreds of evacuated families were returning home to New Orleans and discovering nothing remained, including their winterwear. It was difficult to see so many trying to rebuild their homes and their lives without evening the basic winter garments, so Bundle Up New Orleans tried to fill that need. With knitted and crocheted donations from over a dozen different states around the country, Bundle Up New Orleans provided over 400 hats, scarves, and a large assortment of gloves, socks, and blankets.
The Vision for the future is to create a national network of Bundle Up coordinators who will guide their local areas in knitting and crocheting a supply of bundle up goods. As natural disasters occur, or major catastrophic events happen, local Bundle Up coordinators will be able to assess their local need, contact the national office, and almost instantly a shipment of goods can be on its way to where it is needed.
Economic Opportunity
Another community service project within the vision of Knitivity is to create a learning center similar to The Rwanda Project, begun by Cari Clement from Bond America. They have provided 630 knitting machines to 16 associations in Rwanda, along with excellent teaching, so that the women (including the Association of Widows of the Genocide) will have a path toward economic opportunity as knitters, designers, and entrepreneurs.
What I would like to see is a similar program here in the United States. Poverty is a relative term, of course, and our poorest people have far more comfortable lives than the women in Rwanda and elsewhere. But even so, because the American economy is richer, our poor are still missing out.
My idea would be to teach machine knitting to:
- men and women unable to work a regular job;
- women who seek refuge in domestic abuse shelters;
- single parents lacking adequate education for regular jobs, or raising young children.
These, and many other individuals, wouldn't normally fit into the modern workforce, but they are certainly able design, create, and then sell a wide variety of handcrafted knitwear. Many will be content to use this for extra money to supplement a family income; others may find the spark to advance toward becoming designers.
In many cases, such a program would also offer training in literacy, personal financial management, and other basic life skills that will enable people to rise from a cycle of poverty. The goal is to empower people to find a creative path to independence, whether ultimately it comes through knitting, or some other means.
Your Comments are welcome: just write to me at ray@knitivity.com