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An Army of Bears Helps Women in Armenia

by

berd bearsI should say from the beginning that this is a story that has a little bit of a personal angle to me. John Hart, the Peace Corps volunteer who’s involved in the story, is a friend of mine from college. But that doesn’t make this story any less worth sharing.

In the village of Berd, Armenia, life is pretty hard all around. The village is near the border of Azerbaijan, and war has about halved the population, leaving few viable options for people who don’t want to join the army. There are even fewer options for women, and unemployment is high.

At least that was the case before Hart and Timothy Straight got together. Straight is the founder of Homeland Handicrafts, an organization that employs women making craft items that are sold overseas. When Straight visited Berd he was attracted to a knit bear one of the women brought, and about 30 women in the town have been knitting the bears since.

The bears were being sold through Kickstarter, and more than $17,000 was raised. Straight is looking fora a more stable way to get orders for the bears — perhaps by connecting with an upscale American toy store. There’s also a project in the works to make the bears the stars of an animated television show that will talk about environmental issues. How cool is that?

[Photo by Berd Bears, via Kickstarter.]

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Comments

  1. What a wonderful thing for these guys to do for these women. So they can have extra money.

  2. This story and the support for the village women is terrific. This money gives their families the abilities to live better and have some food. Good luck with the promotion of this project.

Have you read?

Knit a Spiky Balaclava

Not too long ago my daughter and I had a discussion about what a chestnut really looks like. The nut itself is small and brown, of course, but on the tree they’re covered with this weird kind of spiky, kind of fuzzy shell. It’s a wonder anyone ever figured out they were edible.

If you didn’t know that, you might wonder why this project is call Chestnut balaclava, but now you know.

This fun design from Yevheniia Pyroh is covered with spikes just like a chestnut shell, and is even the same color, though of course you can make yours whatever color you like. It uses two strands of fingering weight yarn held together (which it says is fingering weight but you could try a light/DK yarn and see if you get gauge with it if you’d rather).

There are two different design options in the pattern. One is a more fitted balaclava style hat (it doesn’t cover the face but does go around the neck) and a looser fit hood.

It’s worked primarily in garter stitch, with shaping done by knitting and purling in the same stitch and through various decreases (including a knit 3 together).

The pattern is charted but also explained in words. It’s worked flat to the size you want, and then joined into a hood shape with ribbing at the neck. The opening for the face is finished with I-cord.

This hood/balaclava would definitely be a conversation starter and in different colors it might read more dinosaur than chestnut, which could also be fun. The sizing is totally custom so you can make it fit whatever head you’re stitching for.

If you want to try it for yourself (and I’d love to hear about it if you do!) you can download the free pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Yevheniia Pyroh]

Balaclava Knitting Patterns

Colorwork Balaclava Knitting Pattern [Knitting]