Craftistas – Women’s*Workshop

Since March 2019, refugee and asylum-seeking women regularly meet up with other women to cook, eat, learn and do handicrafts together. In the Frauen*Werkstatt Craftistas, women develop their confidence and skills in a welcoming and supportive space. The original project has ended, but the women still regularly meet to produce and sell products, for example waxcloth. The income is used to finance the continued meetings, where new and often alone and lonely women are invited to join.

Women* are often marginalised in society, especially if they face financial challenges, disabilities, etc. Immigrant women* feel isolated navigating their lives in a new country and language. This project breaks this cycle with an open space to connect women* with opportunities for support, cultural exchange, and new skills.

The Craftistas – Frauen*Werkstatt (“Craftistas – Women’s*Workshop”) was created as an open space for women to learn and exchange languages, culture, and handicrafts together. We work together with refugee women* to develop and organize events. Our project is community-driven: we work together with refugee women* and lead outreach in public spaces, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, etc.

The project is organised by a core group of refugee women* from different countries, who organize meetings and activities. The Craftistas team supports these initiatives, we also invite female experts to lead workshops and counselling.

Past participants had positive experiences in the programme and gained new knowledge with the newcomers. Our activities focus on the everyday lives of the participants. These new skills improve the participants’ self-confidence, introduce new cultures, and solve difficult challenges.

The project began initially as a six-month project and continues to expand. While cooking in the workshop, the path to the grindstone, to the vice, to machines and tools is not far. Women* that cook can repair lamps or sharpen kitchen knives. New perspectives are developed, curiosity evoked, minds opened, self-confidence improved and individual skills emerged.

Photos © Craftistas Wien – Offene FrauenWERKstatt