Idaia Amade

Mozambique

Year(s) attended: 2009

Força da mudança in cooperation with Centro de Estudos e Desenvolvimento de Artesanato (CEDARTE)

CEDARTE

Woven Mats

Idaia Amade was born and raised in Palma, a Muslim farming community in a rural area of Mozambique.  She is a mat weaver who completed school up through the second grade and learned mat weaving from her mother at age six.  In a time-consuming process, the mats are made of tightly woven palm strips that are dyed and sewn together in unique, brightly colored combinations. They are used as part of daily life for sleeping, meals, work, and prayer.  Eleven women and one man have created a cooperative to earn more income and provide a place where they produce the mats together.