With no background in fiber but a calling to help women in need, Diana Wiley built a thriving organization on handspun yarn, needlefelted gorillas, and a holistic community for over 200 women.

Stepping into the Handspun Hope booth at a fiber festival feels like entering a luxury boutique filled with natural fibers, colorful yarns, handmade buttons, and whimsical sculptures. It would be easy to enjoy the offerings without wondering about the company’s name—not only “handspun” (yes, the yarns on offer have all been spun by hand) but also “Hope.” The proceeds from everything sold in the booth are returned to women whom the company supports in Rwanda.

A decade after the bloody genocide in Rwanda had come to an end, Diana felt called to help the women living in its aftermath. She had volunteered in relief efforts in other parts of Africa, but her thoughts returned again and again to the plight of Rwandan women making their lives in the aftermath of HIV, extreme poverty, and the long shadow of conflict. Connecting with a former colleague who directed World Relief in Rwanda, she visited the country in 2007. What she saw moved her so greatly that within two days she had quit her corporate job to devote herself to helping.

Diana had no previous experience in yarn, and Rwanda had no local wool culture. Diana wondered if the wool from sheep she came across could be made into yarn, but the first samples she sent to fiber experts weren’t suitable for spinning. She found a handful of Merino rams from an failed government breeding project in the country, imported a group of Merino ewes from Kenya, and Handspun Hope began their handspinning program.

Once the sheep were found, the group had to develop spinning skills, first with handspindles and eventually with spinning wheels, and the women learned to dye the yarn with plants. They have added angora rabbits and yarns, too. Women also sculpt the group’s wool into imaginative ornaments and sculptures by needlefelting. Through the Hope Artisan Collective, the organization buys yarns and finished items from several fair trade women’s groups across Africa. The group is based not far from the habitat of the famous silverback gorillas that attract tourists from around the world, and high-end gift shops in the area sell the group’s needlefelted gorilla sculptures.

With income from the fiber and other goods, Handspun Hope not only pays their workers an above market wage, they also offer medical care, early childhood care, and a daily meal for their staff’s young family members. Although about half of the organization’s budget comes from donations, Diana emphasizes that the goal is to cultivate the women’s ability to support themselves through meaningful work.

Diana is proudest of helping the women of Handspun Hope build the lives that they wish for—like Rosa, their oldest member at age 92, who realized her dream of owning a pig. Each day, before arriving at the organization’s campus, she visits her granddaughter’s house to see the pig that she purchased through the work of her own hands.

Handspun Hope website

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