Decorative pieces

Human Ark is proud to offer arts and crafts programs to refugee women, empowering them with skills and opportunities to express their culture and integrate into the workforce. Our programs focus on sustainable materials and practices that support traditions, producing both aesthetic and practical creations. Through these projects, we aim to foster community building, while also supporting the livelihoods of refugee women. By providing access to these opportunities, we hope to create a brighter future for refugee women and their families, while also promoting cultural exchange and understanding. Join us in our mission to make a positive impact in the lives of resilient and talented women.

  • Workshops for the creation of hand-woven traditional rags
  • Courses on using sewing machines
  • Sessions and promotion of hand-stitching

Enabling community voices to be heard: Arts and Crafts workshop

In February 2023, the Human Ark team conducted a participant assessment in collaboration to UNHCR, the Center for Gender Rights and Equality and civil society organizations active in the refugee and migrant reception centers, on Lesvos Island. 20 women expressed interest following community outreach for the development of  workshops for workforce integration.

Through community dialogues, the Human Ark team ensured that the women’s voices were heard and designed a workshop that would allow them to acquire skills while at the same time create a sense of community and support. The team connected and coordinated the refugee group with local vendors for sewing supplies and other materials to deliver a sewing workshop.

Sewing as a practice is meditative, while at the same time enforces creativity and personal expression. By strengthening such skills, women are empowered to partake in a creative process that yields professional and personal development. The products created highlighting cultures and dreams tell the stories of their creators. They communicate narratives beyond the geographical limits of the island and are promoted all across Europe. Women can thus be empowered to sustain themselves, while at the same time be inspired from each other and form bonds.

The workshop is also an opportunity to share skills and knowledge within the refugee and migrant community, acting as a training of trainers. As such, we strive to enable vulnerable communities to sustain themselves and be integrated in the workforce.