Tools for Self Reliance (TSFR) Cymru has been working with partners in Tanzania for twenty years, supporting people with access to affordable tools and training in artisan skills such as blacksmithing, tailoring and carpentry.

Their model helps people in rural Tanzania lift themselves out of poverty using their own initiative and skills, whilst also developing the skills of volunteers here in Wales who are involved in the refurbishment of tools which are then shipped to their African partner community.

Tony Care from TFSR Cymru said: “One of the things we realised when working in Tanzania was that many people are very skilled, but often lack the equipment and funds to get started and set up their own business.

“We find that even the people who don’t have the skills are quick learners and following our training sessions are soon making garments or carpentry products.”

Some of the equipment that is donated can be very old; as sewing machines are coded, staff and volunteers at TSFR Cymru are able to date them.

Tony added: “It is not uncommon for us to be given mechanical sewing machines that date back to the 19th century; being able to repair an old machine rather than buying a new one or send it to landfill and knowing it will be well used afterwards is particularly satisfying. The shoe menders especially like these old machines as they are stronger than the newer machines.”

As well as shipping tools to Tanzania, Crickhowell based TSFR Cymru also buy handmade Tanzanian tools to sell here in Wales, providing the workers who make them with a good source of income.

Following a grant from Welsh Government funded Hub Cymru Africa they are now in the process of establishing a workshop in Abergavenny, which will give them a base from which to renovate more sewing machines for Tanzanian tailors.

Liz Rees, Grants Support Officer at Hub Cymru Africa said: “The new workshop will mean that women’s groups in Tanzania will receive a lot more machines, which in turn will help many more of them to establish new tailoring businesses and take control of their own lives.

“TSFR Cymru also offer excellent training opportunities for volunteers in Wales to develop hands on skills, and this new workshop will allow them to take on even more people.”

Gift that last - over this festive period TSFR are encouraging you all to buy a gift from them. You can send a sewing machine to a woman’s group in Tanzania for only £10, or train a carpenter for £35.