Plowshare Women Craft Training Center

Our second stop on Saturday was Plowshare Women Craft Training Center.  It's a large training center for single women to learn loom weaving, pottery, basket weaving, screen printing and bead work.  The compound is used for production and training.  Women from the region travel here for long training sessions as well as daily work.  The center has received generous donations of gas kilns from Japan and electric kilns from the Brits; as well as donations from many other embassies including the US.  The manager of the center herself was sent to Japan for extensive training on pottery throwing and kiln drying techniques.

this woman is hand grinding the clay

We had a nice tour of the work areas and then a visit to the little shop for souvenirs.

some of the woven fabric made at the center

My favorite part was our invitation to the coffee ceremony where we were treated to fresh hot brewed coffee in one of the centers traditional Ethiopian pottery coffee pots as well as roasted beans as a snack.  I am always amazed at the hospitality we receive in Ethiopia.  People are so friendly and welcoming.  Bella munched those roasted beans.  She loved them.  One of the woman's 3 year old son had been following us around during our tour and he came in to the coffee hut dressed in a different outfit.  We were told that he went and put on his Ferengi clothes in honor of us.  I wish I had taken a photo of the little guy in his hoodie, jeans and sneakers.  So cute.