Grant amount: £731
Dekyiling Handicraft Centre has been employing Tibetan weavers since the early 1980s and some of the workers have been there for well over 30 years.
Mrs Choden came to Dekyiling from Bhutan in 1982 and has worked in the handicraft centre since 1984. For 34 years she has been employed as a yarn baller, getting paid ‘per piece’. At 71 she is no longer as quick as she used to be and cannot earn enough to fully support herself.
Mrs Choden has been married twice but both of her husbands have sadly passed away. Her children also struggle to make ends meet within their own families and cannot afford to look after her.
We gave Mrs Choden, and two other elderly workers at the handicraft centre, a small stipend to top-up their wages. With this extra help, they don’t have to worry about trying to keep up with the fast pace of work or how to afford their daily living expenses like cooking gas, food and heating.
