Case study - FASHION LAB
Florida Enters Men’s Territory With Confidence
Figure 1. Ready To sell: Dresses and Skirts Florence has Sewn Without Being Commissioned
“After training, I started my tailoring business at home. I could sit on my veranda and operate my sewing machine. I was confident that gradually people would get used to me and start bringing wraps or clothes for sewing. Indeed people started coming, but not as I expected. I needed to be known by many more. Unfortunately the location of my house was not very accessible as Chinsapo is congested and the houses are very compact.”
Figure 2. Ready to Wear Clothes Also Helping to Improve Her Skills
Unlike many local seamstresses who prefer doing their businesses in the comfort of their home, Florida Kusamale, a 40-year-old 2018 graduate of the Mayamiko Trust’s tailoring program, decided to rent a shop on one of the main local roads. There, just like other male tailors, she would be going every day to market her skill, meet her customers and make beautiful clothes for them.
“ Before going for training, I used to do piece work for rich households. Most times I was washing clothes for them and received as little as MK1000 in return. Most times, people do their washing over the weekend, meaning I didn’t have the chance to wash clothes for more than two households.”
Florida decided to search for a shop either by the main road or at the market. It was not long before she secured a small shop big enough for her daily activities: drafting, cutting, measuring, sewing, displaying and, most importantly, attending to customers.
It’s now been close to two years since she opened her shop, and she has noted significant improvements in daily income. She makes at least MK4000 a day; this translates into a monthly income of around MK100,000.
Florida’s life has drastically changed since she learned how to tailor and started using her skills for income generation. Florida’s husband is a security guard, and his income alone was always stretched since their 3 children, aged between 8 and 15 years old, are all school going. This means regular demands for learning materials, in addition to basic needs. Her 15-year-old child is sitting the Malawi School Certificate of Examination (MSCE) this year, but luckily they did not have any problems paying for her examination fees.
Whenever she has a few customers, she goes to town to buy fabric, then she designs and sews dresses, shirts or shorts ready for purchase. This has helped her to improve her skills constantly.
Florida rents the shop for around MK10,000 a month. There are few female tailors in her community; her competition is mainly male, but she is slowly establishing herself. She is confident that the location of her shop is marketing for her skill. As people get to know her, she believes her popularity will keep on growing and perhaps one day, she will secure more customers than her male counterparts. Her dream is to secure an even bigger space in the future!