Ethiopian Quilts
Inspired by Welsh Quilts
An important initiative by Jen Jones

Jen is now offering for sale a collection of limited edition flannel geometric patchworks; replicas from some of Jen's private collection.

Jen Jones and the Ethiopian Connection

Bev Jones who was CAFOD's British representative in Addis Ababa, happened to come to Jen's shop in Llanybydder to buy a Welsh blanket. In the course of conversation Jen mentioned that she was looking for a group of women interested in a Fair Trade project to hand-make re-creations of some of Jen's famous 19th century Welsh flannel geometric patchworks. These are much admired for their decorative value but are now virtually unobtainable. Some months elapsed before Bev contacted Jen and said; "I think I have found the group for you." A group of women were embroidering religious textiles through a facility at the Daughters of Charity Convent in Mekelle, in the province of Tigray. The project wasn't selling enough to support the whole group so they were looking to diversify.

Shortly afterwards, Jen and her long-term associate, Janet Bridge found themselves flying out to Ethiopia, under a two-year sponsorship by CAFOD, to meet the group, for Janet to teach them how to quilt and for Jen to develop the project.

Two years and several trips later, Welsh flannel and quilting frames having been transported, the girls are now fully trained and producing beautifully hand-stitched quilts. We hope that, within the next year or two, they will be able to form their own co-operative independent of the convent. Each of these women is a primary breadwinner for their extended families and most of them are under twenty-five years old. This project also gives them the opportunity to send their children to school (basic education not being free in Ethiopia) and/or to fund their own further education.

Now the time has come to explore appreciative markets for the exquisite work these women are producing. A medium-sized quilt takes five women four weeks to hand-quilt and by Ethiopian standards, they are more than properly paid for their skill. This and the transport costs from such a remote region is reflected in the price but to have a comparable quilt made in the developed world would be prohibitively expensive.