Business: Traditional weaver
Region: Kairouan
Essia of Kairouan, in central Tunisia, grew up in a family that has been weaving traditional fabrics for generations. This helped with her integration into the vocational high school in Kairouan where she learnt sewing and embroidery. During holidays, she used to work as a seasonal employee in textile factories to pay for her studies. When Essia finished school, she already had extensive skills and therefore started her small project specialising in weaving native woollen cloth into haïk and in embroidery. In 2005, she received her first loan of 200 TND. As of today, she has obtained 6 loans for a total amount of 5,000 TND.

She works from a room in her house and employs 4 young girls that she is training in embroidery. Many of her customers are families that need to prepare their daughter’s wedding trousseau. But this market is quite saturated given the competition from other female craft workers in Kairouan working for the same segment of customers. To address this concern, Essia is trying to improve the quality and design of her line of products in the hope of reaching different customers. She explains, "For a little while now, I have been trying to adapt to new trends - to produce articles that appeal to young people and also to European tourists that are only interested in simpler designs... Trade fairs and exhibitions are really great places where one can learn a lot, exchange ideas and network with other craft workers. That is why I hope to participate in them regularly."