Mongolia 2010-2011
The NWL Mongolian Quilting Center remains a hive of activity. The Center, run by the Director Selenge Tserendash, now employs a designer, three full-time seamstresses making items to sell, and five part-time teachers. Several other women do piecework in their homes. After a hiatus in 2010, they are once again running four week quilting courses sponsored by the Mongolian Government. They also teach in the Ger District in Ulaanbaatar, and travel to the countryside to offer classes when funds are available (past sponsors include World Vision, US Embassy and British Embassy). This income provides a much needed to boost towards the operating and maintenance costs. High inflation means that the costs of supplies, utilities and wages have all increased significantly. 2010 was a poor year for tourism and sales in the shop, but 2011 is already showing signs of improvement and they will also be able to sell their products in The Department Store. In addition to quilting, the Center offers tailoring – alterations and custom-made traditional Mongolian outfits. They are hoping to purchase an embroidery sewing machine sometime in the next year so that they can embroider logos and traditional Mongolian patterns on the new products they are designing.
Selenge Tserendash is diligent in her goal to make the Center self-sustaining, but in the meantime they still need our support for operating and maintenance costs. In 2010, I raised $7,900 from donations and sale of items made at the Mongolian Quilting Center. Much of this was generated from quilt guilds around the nation, where I lectured and taught. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church parishioners remain faithful and generous supporters and the church continues to host our account (see donor page to make tax deductible donations). We were also able to sell items at Bainbridge Island Curves during the month of November.
In 2010, quilters from London, UK, visited and taught at the Center. The UK quilters continue to be supportive and to assist with fund raising. This summer Nancy Watts, a quilter from Oregon, will visit to teach, accompanied by her husband John. John has volunteered to do handiwork and odd jobs at the Center including building shelves and improving lighting. Nancy recently solicited donations of fabric and notions at Fabric Depot, a huge store in Portland. She and John filled their truck and drove to my house. We packed these items, including a sewing machine, together with donations I had gathered, into nine large boxes (20” x 20” x 20”). Through a Mongolian contact in Seattle, we were able to send these boxes, ($50 each with no weight restriction), in a container carrying two cars, bound for Mongolia. We also sent a bicycle for Selenge. The container sailed on 28th April and will probably arrive about the same time as Nancy and John in early August. |
