Venezuela on the Move: Women of Petare: between needles and threads
Our correspondent Adriana Sivori takes us to the Petare neighborhood, east of Caracas, where a group of women have found in needles and threads the inspiration to teach an art that also serves as a source of employment. teleSUR
Transcript
00:00 And our colleagues Adriana Sibori and Marcos da Silva continue finding and collecting stories
00:22 that showcase Venezuelans' daily life, their creativity, their resilience and capacities.
00:28 In a new episode of our series, Venezuela on the Move, we learn about the work of a
00:33 group of women in Petare neighborhood east of Caracas who found in the art of the needles
00:38 and threads a way to help their community and sustain their households.
00:43 Their workshop serves as an atelier for repair and crafting and also as a school for younger
00:48 apprentices and is a vivid example that every shining diamond starts as a humble charcoal
00:54 piece.
00:55 Let's see.
00:56 Inside the shop, Irene slows down the foot pedal.
01:05 She attends to her first customer.
01:08 At the age of 19, she felt the texture of fabrics for the first time.
01:14 And to this day, she hasn't stopped stitching.
01:17 This is our trench from where we help the community.
01:23 Here in this workshop, we generally do repairs for the community at a very low cost.
01:29 And the only thing we charge for is labor as people bring their own materials.
01:36 The cost is the equivalent of one dollar.
01:39 They also make uniforms, shirts and t-shirts for companies, which gives them a little more
01:44 profit.
01:45 Raquel is the eldest in the workshop and her skill in handling the thread and needle makes
01:51 her a master of the trade.
01:55 In all these years, I have also helped several people in the community sew, to learn how
02:01 to sew.
02:03 Family members and non-family as well.
02:06 Neighbors, because my whole life has been sewing.
02:14 These sewing machines don't stop.
02:16 At least 10 people a day show up at the shop asking for their services.
02:21 One of the young women works part-time.
02:23 Her passion for sewing has brought her here.
02:26 What I used to do was mainly sewing.
02:31 I had no idea of how to cut.
02:33 And after the classes I have done here, I now know how to cut.
02:38 I identify myself more with children's clothes.
02:41 I love working with baby clothes.
02:44 I make headbands, bows.
02:46 I make tutus.
02:47 I love my country.
02:49 I believe in my country and I think there is a lot of potential here.
02:57 This cut and sew shop is located on the hills of one of the urban areas where people with
03:02 low income live.
03:04 It was founded in 2011 and since then they haven't lost a thread.
03:09 The formula, they say, is to help the community.