Empower Filipino teenage girl survivors of abuse

After mastering making hand-painted tote bags, and successfully selling these, the girls of Tahanan thought crochet would also be fun to learn. They asked for lessons and picked up basic crochet skills after three sessions with an expert crochet teacher who ran her own crochet store. With their appetites whetted, the girls took to watching YouTube and TikTok, closely following the step-by-step videos. Only then did they decide on their initial crochet creations of specific bags, flowers, earrings, headscarves, and soft toys. They learned which stitches, which crochet tools, and which kind and color of yarn worked best. Each girl chose what she wanted to make, and in time would boast how many she could turn out in a matter of minutes. Most importantly, they knew they were creating beautiful things.

From the start, sales were brisk among visitors to Tahanan, and volume orders started coming in. The  Ateneo senior high school students  wanted 121 flowers and 121 pairs of earrings as graduation mementos; the Philippine Retail Association  ordered 45 crochet flowers to display in their store; a donor brought dozens of flowers for a wedding in the United States; a civic group gave away bags and flower bouquets to its members; Miriam College asked for assorted products for their school bazaar. Crochet creations were definitely in fashion. When these were sold, each girl got paid for her piecework.

 Encouraged by people’s appreciation of their handmade creations, the girls continue to experiment and expand their product line, choosing to spend most of their free time to crocheting, and enjoying every minute of it. They are currently working on how to make huggable teddy bears!