DIY

The girls in garbage city are currently working away at this years newest designs. That's fun to say huh? Taylor left this morning to join the team in Ethiopia. Ruth Spreadbourgh (the fine arts school leader) is leading the DTS team in Ethiopia the next 2 months. They will be working with the 10 girls who are working at our home. The come every day after school from 4-7 to sew designs onto t-shirts that we will then sell on tour and on our website. We are currently searching for an Ethiopian woman who would be interested in leading this endeavor. We would like to see it become a self-sustaining business within the next few years. Right now, the profit we receive from the t-shirts is going to a college fund we are setting up for the girls. The girls and the girls' families are so excited for them to not have to work in the dump everyday. There they were at risk of disease from the trash and were sometimes abused or sexually assaulted by the guys who lingered around. We're glad we can help them get on their feet and discover talents of their own.

Even after the first week the girls were able to put together a small portfolio of their work. Britney (2009 DTS student) modeling what the last team brought back last month:




I've been researching how to screen print for months and I finally came across this device, the Yudu:



It makes screen printing super easy to do at home. It's going to be my next big investment for making merchandise to sell on our website for Pick a Pocket once it's up. It would also be cool to get a few of these to Ethiopia, train the girls how to print, and allow them alternatives to sewing.

I've been inspired mostly by artists like Mark Weaver. He combines vintage images with simple screen printed design. Beautiful :)

Mark Weaver