In April this year, we launched this year’s Husky Energy Tailoring Skills Program for Women (HET). After 30 days since its launch, 60 women aged 20-35 have been learning the valuable skill of sewing!
At first, the participants were taught to measure and cut patterns before moving on to sewing techniques. The women have no initial knowledge of sewing, so everything they learned was completely new to them. Either way, it did not hinder some of them from learning quickly! Outstanding students such as Deji, Sonam Huamao, Tashi Tso, Gatbu Zhuoma, Douge Tso, and Lamu Zhuoma have shown excellent performance. They attended every class on time, maintained good relationships with their fellow students, showed respect to their teachers, and displayed an overall positive attitude towards learning. They are not only eager to learn the basics, but are also motivated to master more advanced skills to make a living out of sewing.
In May, after a month since the training started, a midterm examination was held. They were tasked to draw and cut patterns on fabric and sew them into appropriately-fitted garments. It was quite a challenge for them to do that! Because in the past, they were taught to cut paper instead of fabric. While similar in some ways, those two materials require different ways of handling, making their midterm exam quite tough.
Even with the unfamiliarity of only working with fabrics, some students fared okay, while others showed expected weaknesses. The overall exam was a fair assessment for all of them, and they will be working on the areas that need improvement. The new goal is to intensify the training by teaching the students enough to master the entire garment-making process: from cutting to sewing. To do that, the students need to work harder at home. As for their homework, they were tasked to take the fabric home to practice sewing. Each student must complete at least five assigned garments to move forward.
We are pushing these women to do better because we know they can do it. Moreover, sewing is a skill that becomes more refined through hands-on experience. The more one does it, the better they become at it! Being idle or leaving it too long could make one forget or become rusty, so it’s important to keep motivating them to spend more time with the skill.
The exam was tough on everyone, so we held a small meeting with the students to discuss actionable goals that everyone could agree on. We cannot wait to see them do better the next time and create garments that are wearable!
This program is fully funded by Husky Energy
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