FinalProjectReportfor:StitchSainteLuce(PhaseIII):

EmpoweringwomenandincreasingincomesthroughembroideryinruralsoutheastMadagascar

February2017

SEEDMadagascarSuite7,1aBeethovenSt,London,W104LG,UnitedKingdom

VillaRabemanda,Ambinanikely,B.P.318,Tolagnaro,MadagascarTel:+44(0)2089606629

Email:projects@seedmadagascar.orgWeb:madagascar.co.uk

UKCharityNo.1079121,CompanyNo.3796669

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1. Introduction

Madagascar is globally renowned for its rich biodiversity, yet for decades the country has beenfightingalosingbattleagainstchronicpoverty.Ranking154/188ontheHumanDevelopmentIndex(UNDP: 2016), the country failed to achieve a singleMillenniumDevelopment Goal (World Bank:2016). Poverty in the isolated, southeast Anosy Region is particularly severewith average annualincomeinagriculturalhouseholds48%belowthenationalaverage(WorldBank,2017).IntheruralfishingcommunityofSainteLuce,educationandemploymentopportunitiesarelimited.Womenaretypically dependent on the marginal income of male fishermen, or rely on reed weaving ormangrovefishingforincomewhichyieldlittlereturnanddamagethelocalenvironment.

Since2012,ProjectStitchSainteLuce(hereafterProjectStitch)hasbeendevelopingembroideryasasustainable livelihood for disadvantaged women in Sainte Luce, increasing their incomes, socialstanding and economic resilience.Withwomen typically investingmore of their earnings in theirfamilies than men (UNICEF, 2016), improving female livelihoods holds the potential to alleviatepovertyacrossthewidercommunity.ThisisthefinalreportforPhaseIIIofProjectStitch,coveringthe two-year period from 1st February 2015 to 31st January 2017. The report provides acomprehensiveaccountofallprojectactivity,alongwithanevaluationofachievements,impactandlessonslearned,aswellasconsiderationsforfutureaction.

Followingthesuccessesofpreviousphases,PhaseIIIofProjectStitchhasfocusedonbuildinglong-term sustainability and establishing a robust women’s embroidery association. Phase III hasdevelopedtheskillsoftheembroidererstotakeonmanyoftheoperationalandbusinesselementsof the Stitch association; including recording sales, organising stock to be sold in the studio andabroad,productdevelopment,buyingequipmentandmaterials,andconductingsaleswithtourists.Phase III has also empowered the embroiderers in other areas; all of the women attended teneducationalsessionsonhealth,hygieneandnutrition,whilst levelsofEnglishamongstthewomenhavecontinuedto improve.Oneof thehighlightsofPhase IIIwasasuccessfulcross-visit toasilk-weaving cooperative in central Madagascar to share experiences and learning on running anindependentandsuccessfulbusiness.

ThecontinuingsuccessofProjectStitch is reflectedby thesteady increases in salesseenover thetwo years. In 2014, the year beforePhase III began, Stitch generated a total of 33.9millionMGA(MalagasyAriary),orapproximately8,500GBP(GreatBritishPounds)insalesacrosstheyear.1InthefinalyearofPhaseIII,totalsalesamountedto53millionMGA,oraround13,350GBP;anincreaseof55%acrossthetwoyearperiod.Accordingly,theembroiderer’scollectiveincomeisnowover370%higherthanbeforeProjectStitch.Thismarkedincreaseenablesthewomentoprovidetheirfamilieswithmorenutritiousfood,accesstohealthcareandschoolfeesfortheirchildren.

The project has also increased the women’s social standing both within their households andamongstthewidercommunity,withjustoverhalfoftheembroiderersnowcontributingthelargestshare of household income. Phase III of Project Stitch has made significant progress in fosteringgenderempowermentand livelihooddevelopment,alleviatingmulti-dimensionalpoverty formen,womenandchildrenthroughouttheSainteLucecommunity.

1AllexchangeratescalculatedusingXEcurrencyconverteratarateof1GBP=3,973MGAon09/02/17.

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2. ProjectBackgroundandObjectives

Established in 2012, Project Stitch aimed to tackle the combined challenges of livelihooddiversification and women’s empowerment through embroidery. It supports women living in theruralfishingcommunityofSainteLuce,whopriortoProjectStitchhadfeweducationalorlivelihoodopportunities outside traditional weaving or mangrove fishing. Phases I and II of Project Stitchtrainedandsupportedagroupof23women(now21women)toproducehighqualityembroideredproducts tosellbothtotouristsandonthe internationalmarket.Astudiowassubsequentlybuilt,providingaspacefortheembroidererstomeet,createandsell theirproducts.Withsupport fromSEED project staff, sales of Stitch products both inMadagascar and internationally steadily rose,increasingtheembroiderers’incomeandabilitybuymorenutritiousfood,medicine,educationandclothingfortheirfamilies.

Although Phases I and II were successful in proving that embroidery was a viable and lucrativealternative livelihood in Sainte Luce, the newly trained embroiderers remained heavily reliant onprojectstaff toadministerandmanagethebusinesselementsofStitch.Thus,Phase III focusedonbuildingthecapacityoftheembroidererstotakeoveroperationalaspectsofthebusiness,aswellassupporting thewomento formaself-governingassociation tomanage theembroideryenterprise.Trainingwas designed to build capacity in English, photography, computer literacy, alongside keybusinessskillssuchasbook-keeping,stockmanagement,sourcingmaterials,liaisingwithcustomersand processing orders. The aim was to support the newly formed association in transitioningtowardsindependence,thusgraduallyremovingrelianceonSEED.

OtherobjectivesofPhase III includedsupportingprojectbeneficiariestodisseminatetheirskills toothermembers of the community, aswell as engaging the embroiderers on a variety of subjectsfromnutritionand familyplanning tomalariaprevention,with the intentionofdisseminatingvitalinformationthroughthecommunityofSainteLuce.Thedevelopmentofregionalandinternationalmarket forStitchproductswasalsoacrucialaspectofPhase III, toensure theembroiderershavereliableandsufficientsourcesofincome.

Rosine working in the studio An array of belts for sale Bunting with Brown Lemur design

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3. ProjectActivities

3.1 Supportandtraininginformingasuccessfulbusinessassociation

In the firstyearof thePhase III, trainingwasdeliveredonhowtobuildaworkingassociationanddevelop effective internal governance structures. Project staff worked with the embroiderers towrite a Dina (a Malagasy word describing local customary law) for the emerging association,outliningtherulesandprotocolswhichalltheembroiderersmustadhereto.AVono-dinawasalsodrawnup,declaringtheagreedconsequencesforviolationsoftheDina.ACommitteewaselectedtoleadtheassociation,consistingofaPresident,Vice-President,Secretary,TreasurerandAuditor.

ThroughoutPhaseIII,theDinahasproventobeavaluablefoundationfortheassociation,withall21oftheembroiderersassertingthat it isrespectedandadheredtoinfinalmonitoring.DuringPhaseIII, two embroiderers were caught in violation of the Dina and subsequently expelled by theassociation following a democratic vote – one for stealing threads and one for refusing to sharecommissionworkthatshouldhavebeendividedaccordingtotheDina.While it isregrettablethateither of these incidents took place, the resulting action demonstrates the association’scommitmenttogoodgovernanceandvalidatesboththenecessity forandtheefficacyoftheDinaandVono-Dina.TheCommitteehasalsogrowninconfidenceandaptitudeoverthecourseofPhaseIII, chairing regularmeetings with the embroiderers and providing leadership for the association.ConfidenceintheCommitteewasreaffirmedthroughanelectionheldinJanuary2017,withfouroutoffivemembersretainingtheirpositions.

Alongside building internal structures, training was delivered to the embroiderers on the skillsrequired to run a successful and effective embroidery business. Five teams were established tooverseekeyareasofcollectiveresponsibility;asalesteam,aqualitycontrolteam,amaterialsteam,astockmanagementteamandahousekeepingteam.Asystemofrotationaltrainingwasintroducedtoensureeverywomanhadtheopportunitytoexperienceeachrolepriortomakingalonger-termcommitment.This trainingwaseffective inensuring the five teamsweremadeupofwomenwhowere both suitable and motivated, whilst also ensuring that every embroiderer had anunderstandingofeachteam’sresponsibilities.Oncetheembroiderershadallocatedthemselvesintofiveteams,furtherbespoketrainingwasgiventobuildthespecialistskillsrequiredtocarryoutteamresponsibilities,suchasbook-keepingandpurchasingmaterials.

Over the duration of Phase III, there has been significant, tangible progress in the ability ofembroiderers to manage the everyday running of the business. Control of routine tasks such asbuyingmaterials,sellingtocustomers,recordingproductsalesandstockandhandlingfinanceshasgradually been transferred fromproject staff to the embroiderers. The five teams responsible forhousekeeping, managing stock, buying materials, handling sales and quality control are nowperformingthese taskswithminimalsupport,gainingexperienceandconfidence in theseroles. InPhase IIImonitoring, 70%of thewomen reported that they felt the teamswithin the associationwereworkingwellandwerecompletingtheirjobseffectively.

Inyeartwo,aseriesofphotographyworkshopswereheldwithallembroiderersontheuseofdigitalcamerasandvalueoftakingattractive,high-qualityproductphotos.Usingexamplesofprofessionalphotography from magazines, the women were encouraged to think about what makes a good

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photograph and to practice photographing their products in the studio. The training provedsuccessful,withthewomenincreasinglyabletotakeappealing,marketableproductphotosforuseonthewebsite, socialmediaandonlineEtsyshop.Themost recentproductphotospostedonlinewere takenby twoembroiderers,RollineandKirisy,whohaveboth shownaparticular talentandflareforphotographyandarekeentodeveloptheirskillsfurther.

Aseriesoffourcomputertrainingsessionswerealsodeliveredinyeartwo,bySEED’sITSpecialist,providing a basic overviewof starting a laptop, opening and saving spreadsheets, anddata entry.Someprogresswasmade amongst the embroiderers, particularlywith entering sales records intospreadsheets. Nonetheless, low levels of literacy and English language, and unfamiliarity withcomputer systems,posedchallenges to thewomen’sprogress in IT.Moreover,asa resultof timeconstraintsandthereschedulingofthecross-visit,fewertrainingsessionswereconductedthanhadoriginally been scheduled. With the association having identified IT skills as vital to long-termsustainability,enthusiasmformorecomputertrainingremainshigh;inthefinalmonitoring,43%ofwomenstatedadesireforfurthercomputertraining.

3.2 Cross-visittosuccessfulwomen’sassociation

In August 2016, five members of the Stitch association, including the President and Secretary,participated in a long-awaited cross-visit to a women’s silk weaving cooperative in Soatanana,centralMadagascar.Thegroup,whichalsoincludedthreeprojectstaff,travelledtwodaysacrossthehighlands of Madagascar to share knowledge with and learn from a successful and independentwomen’stextileassociation.ThetripwasthefirsttimetheembroiderershadlefttheAnosyRegion,givingthemavaluableexperienceintravellingacrossanddiscoveringtheirowncountry.

Prior to the trip,meetings were held with participating embroiders and the wider association toidentify key learning objectives. During the three-day visit, the Stitch embroiderers were able tohave several in-depth and productive meetings with key figures in the silk weaving cooperative.Topics covered during themeetings included quality control of products, enforcement of internalrulesandaccesstomarkets.Themeetingsallowedbothpartiestoshareexperiencesandlearning,and reflecton thechallengesof runninga sustainablebusiness. Theembroiderersalsovisited thesilk weavers’ village, a local artisan craft market and the shop where the women sell their silkscarves.

Product photo taken by Rolline Managing the sales books

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The trip was highly successful, with the insights gained by participants reported back to theassociationupontheirreturn.Followingthecross-visit,theassociationagreedtoadopta5%internalcommission on products, creating a pot of collective finances to cover shared costs, such astransportationofproductsforsaleorstudiomaintenance.SeveralmembersoftheCommitteealsoreaffirmedtheneedtobemorerigorousinensuringinternalrulesonqualitycontrolaremetbyallembroiderers.

ThevisitestablishedaproductiveworkingrelationshipwiththeSoatananasilkweavers’cooperative,andhasfosteredopportunitiesforfuturecollaboration.TheStitchembroiderershavesincesoldthesilkweavers’ scarves in theSainteLucestudio, transferring themoneyback toSoatanana throughmobilepayment. The silkweavers also agreed to sell Stitch Sainte Luceembroidery in their shop,with the first shipment of stock sent by post in November 2016. By January 2017, all the Stitchproductshadbeensoldbythesilkweavers.Lookingforwards,theembroidererswillbeencouragedto nurture this burgeoning relationship and establish a formal agreement with the silk weavers,providingStitchwithapermanentretailoutletincentralMadagascar.

3.3 Disseminationofskillsandinformationtothecommunity

Themostdirectandsignificantway inwhichtheStitchembroiderershavespread informationandskillstothecommunity inSainteLucehasbeenthroughthetrainingofassociateembroiderers.AtthebeginningofPhaseIII, therewere35associateswhohadbeenorwerebeingtrainedbyStitchmembers to produce embroidery. Thesemainly consisted ofmothers, sisters or daughters of theStitch embroiderers. By the end of Phase III, there were 79 associate embroiderers producingembroidery,with90%havingsoldproductsthroughtheassociation..Moreassociatesarenowfromoutside the immediate Stitch members’ families; with embroiderers training aunts, nieces andfriends, the financial benefits of Stitch are being spread further across the community. Someembroiderershaveeventrainedtheirhusbandsasassociates,highlightingthewomen’sempoweredstatuswithinthehousehold.

The rise in associate embroiderers has been accompanied by a rise in sales of productsmade byassociateembroiderers.InthefirstsixmonthsofPhaseIII,42associateembroidereritemshadbeensoldwitha total salesvalueof476,000MGA, representing4%of totalStitchsales. In the final sixmonthsofthePhaseIII,associateembroidererscollectivelysold563itemswithatotalsalesvalueof

Stitch embroiderers with the Soatanana silk weavers Inspecting the silk scarves

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11,953,000MGA, representing38%of totalStitchsales.Thisamounts toa2,411% increase in thevalueofsalesfromassociateproducts,comparedtoonlya125%increaseinthenumberofassociateembroiderers. ItcanthereforebeconfidentlyassertedthatPhaseIIIsupportedamajorincreaseinthenumberofcommunitymembersfinanciallybenefitingfromtheStitchassociation.

AnumberofotherinitiativeswereundertakeninPhaseIIItodisseminateinformationandservicesto the Sainte Luce community through the Stitch association. In June 2016, a video of the Stitchassociationandtheroletheirembroideryplaysinhighlightingtheunique,beautifulandthreatenedenvironment of Sainte Luce was produced and screened for the community during WorldEnvironment Day celebrations. The video was subsequently broadcast on local television in theAnosyRegion.

Monthlymendingsessionswerealsotrialledinthefirstyear,allowingthecommunitytocometothestudio and have their clothes repaired for free. Although formalmending sessions were stoppedaftera fewmonths,due toa limitednumberofattendees, theStitchembroiderers independentlycame up with a solution better suited to the association and the community. They now run aninformaldrop-inmendingserviceforfree,wherebymembersofthecommunitycancomeintothestudioatanytime,andreceivehelpandadviceonmendingandaccesstosewingmachines.

3.4 Englishlanguagetraining

EnglishteachinghasbeenongoingwiththeembroiderersthroughoutPhaseIII,deliveredbySEED’squalifiedEnglishteachingvolunteers.Theembroiderershavebeenprimarilytaughtinthreegroupsaccording to their English language ability, with lesson plans and records maintained by SEED’sEnglishdepartmenttoensurecontinuityandprogression.Alongsidetheseformalteachingsessions,othereducationalaidssuchasrecordingstoplayinthestudiohavealsobeentrialledtoenabletheembroidererstopracticewhenateacherisunavailable.

Between April and October 2016, the Stitch embroiderers received week-long blocks of Englishteaching every month from a regular, long-term English teacher. In line with a new curriculumdesigned specifically for Project Stitch, lessons focused on customer service to enable theembroidererstosellproductstoEnglishvisitors.Sessionsutilisedliverole-playingofsalesscenarios,peer-to-peerlearningandinformalassessmentsaslearningtools.Unfortunately,duetoillness,theregular English teacher for Project Stitch left Madagascar in October 2016 and no immediate

Examples of embroidered cushions made by the Stitch women

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replacement was available – although several English lessons were given in November by atemporaryteacher.

Overthecourseoftheproject,theEnglishlanguageskillsofthewomenhavesteadilyimprovedandeagerness to learn English remainshigh amongst themajority of embroiderers. In February 2016,the embroiderers scored on average 40/54 in a test of embroidery-specific vocabulary. In August2016,aftersixmonthsoflessonswitharegularEnglishteacher,thisaveragehadrisento51/54.Atproject close, nearly all embroiderers had some basic vocabulary of spoken English being ableintroduce themselves and speak about the range of products, colours, designs and prices in thestudio.SeveralofthemoreadvancedembroiderersareabletogreetcustomersandconductsalesinEnglish.

Despitethisprogress,ithasbeenhighlightedthatmanyofthewomenlackconfidenceinteractinginEnglish outside the comfort of their lessons and that the overall standard of English amongst theembroiderers is still at beginner level. Phase III has highlighted several challenges in teaching theembroiderers English, notably the low levels of literacy amongst the women and the logisticalchallengesofregularlysendinganEnglishteachertoSainteLuce(formoredetail,seesection4.2.1onlessonslearnt).GiventheimportanceofEnglishlanguageskillsforsalesandthedevelopmentofnational and international markets, English teaching has been identified as an area for furtherdevelopmentmovingforwards.

3.5 Capacity building for Stitch Sainte Luce members on health, hygiene and nutritionissues

Tenhealth trainingsessionswereheldwith theStitchembroiderersona rangeofhealth,hygieneand nutritional issues. All sessions were led by trained staff working within SEED’s healthdepartment, utilising existing research and SEED’s expertise on health issues amongst ruralpopulationsintheregion.Thefirstthreesessions,conductedinMarchandApril2016,focusedon:hand-washing,duringwhichatippy-tap2wasbuilt;themedicalbenefitsofmoringaplants,includingtheplantingofmoringaseedlingsaroundthestudio;andeyecare,concludingwiththeprovisionofglasses,donatedtotheprojectbyaprivatedonor,tothoseinneed.

2Atippytapprovidesahygienicwaytowashhandswithoutrunningwater,madebyfillingamodifiedplasticbottlewithwaterandtipping.

SEED’s long-term English Teacher, Ben, giving lessons to the embroiderers

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In November 2016, four further talks were given on sexual health by SEED’s Community HealthOfficer. Two sessions were provided for the embroiderers and two sessions for the associateembroiderers, covering family planning and contraception, sexually transmitted infections (STIs)such asHIV andAIDS, and sexual relationships. These sessionswerewell received and generatedopenandengagingdebatesamongstbothgroupsofwomen, leadingtomanyadditionalquestionsfortheCommunityHealthOfficer.TwofurthersessionswerealsoheldinNovemberonmalariaandtherisksofself-medication.

The health sessionswere completed in December 2016with a talk onwater hygiene, led by thecoordinatorofProjectTatirano,a rainwater-harvestingproject inSainteLuce.Thesessioncoveredwaterhygieneprinciples,collectioninSainteLuceandtheimportanceofcleandrinkingwater.TheCoordinator encouraged the women to consider installing a rainwater-harvesting system in theirhomewhenthesearemadeavailableinPhaseIIofProjectTatirano.

Average attendance across the health talks for Stitch embroidererswas 88%. As a result of theirstatusandrespectedpositionwithinthehouseholdandwidercommunity,theStitchembroiderersare also able to disseminate the learning gained from health talks to their families and friendsthroughout Sainte Luce. Incorporating the associate embroiderers into half of the health sessionsalsoenhancedthesharingofinformedhealthadviceamongstthecommunityofSainteLuce.

3.6 Establishingashopforembroideryequipment

As part of the business skills training conducted in the first six months of Phase III, an internalmaterials ‘shop’wasestablished, allowing theembroiderers tobuy their threadsand fabrics fromwithintheassociation.WhilstProjectStitchstaff initiallyestablishedrelationshipswithsuppliers inFort Dauphin and coordinated purchases, the materials shop and processes of purchasing fromsuppliers are now independentlymanaged by the embroiderers.Members of thematerials teampurchaserecycledfabricinnearbyMahatalakyandhigherqualitymaterialinFortDauphin.

At the beginning of Phase III, threadswere purchased fromAntananarivo as theywere of higherquality to those sold in Fort Dauphin. Following negotiations between project staff and a localretailer,thehigherqualitythreadisstockedinFortDauphin,enablingtheembroidererstotakeoverthepurchasingof threadsfromtheretailer.Thematerials teamrecordstransactionsandmanagesmaterial stocks, reporting back to the association regularly to ensure transparency and enable

Planting Moringa seeds outside the Studio Health talk on hand-washing and hygiene

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decisionsonfuturepurchases.Whennecessary,thematerialsteamalsobuyandstockembroideryequipmentsuchasneedlesandembroideryrings,enablingtheassociationtoreplaceequipmentandbuynewtoolsforassociateembroiderers.

In December 2016, project staff coordinated an order of 32 rechargeable, solar powered LuciLightsTMwhichtheembroidererscouldpurchasethroughtheassociation.Byprojectclose,15lightshad been purchased, providing a cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly solution forworkingatnight,comparedtothekerosenelampspreviouslyused.Inadditiontothis,afurtherfiveLuciLightsweredonatedtotheassociateembroiderers,whocanaccessthestudioandborrowoneoftheselightsforaperiodoftwodayswhenworkingonacommission.

Thematerialsshopwithintheassociationhasbeennowbeenrunningforover18months,becomingsteadilymoreefficient,confidentandautonomous.ThesuccessoftheshopinmaintainingaregularstockoflocallysourcedmaterialsinSainteLucehasenabledtheembroidererstoincreasetheirself-relianceandcompleteembroideryproductswithoutsupply-relateddelays.Sourcing local, recycledfabricsandbuying inbulkhasalsoallowedtheembroiderers tosavemoneyandavoidpurchasingexpensive items from Antananarivo and abroad, enabling the association to move towards self-sufficiency.Given thecompetenceandexperiencenowgainedby thematerials team inmanagingtheshop,itisanticipatedthatthisarrangementwillcontinuetothriveinthefuture.

3.7 DevelopinginternationalmarketchainsforStitchSainteLuceproducts

SignificantprogresswasmadeindevelopinginternationalmarketsforStitchproductsduringPhaseIII, with emphasis on raising awareness through exposure in printed publications, at handicraftevents and online. Stitch Sainte Luce was featured in a number of local and internationalpublications, includingtheGuardiannewspaperandHandEyemagazine,arenownedinternationalglobal craft publication. The online presence of Stitch has grown through both frequent posts onsocialmedia–therehasbeena95%increaseinfollowersofStitch’sFacebookpageduringPhaseIII-andthroughtheStitchwebsite,whichwasredesignedbyadigitaldesignerintheUK.Theupdatedwebsite now provides a sleek, professional platform for advertising information about the Stitchenterprise,futureeventsandproductsforsalesonline.PhaseIIIhasalsoseenasteadyincreaseinsalesmadethroughtheonlineEtsyshop,generating756GBPorover3millionMGAin2016.AUK-basedvolunteerhastakenoncoordinationofallaspectsofsellingonline.

Updating the stock book Threads for sale in the Materials Shop

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Throughout Phase III, volunteers working for Stitch in the UK have researched, organised andattendedoveradozeneventsintheUKtosellandmarketStitchproducts.ThishasincludedTheBigTextileshowinLeicester,TheHandmadeFairinLondonandAfricaOYEmusicfestivalinLiverpool.In2015,StitchwascommissionedbyagalleryinWisconsin,USAtoproduceaseriesofwall-hangingsdepictingtraditionalstoriesforthe‘CulturalCloth’exhibition.Theshowwasagreatsuccess,sellingall the embroidery commissioned, worth a total of 578 USD. Stitch also had its first stall atGlastonbury music festival in June 2016, with the embroiderers creating a range of Glastonburythemedproducts, such as bracelets andbunting, to sell at the event. Across theweekendover 4millionMGA,or1,000GBP,wasmadeinsales,withall120braceletssoldbythesecondday.Afterthe success of the event in 2016, Stitch has applied oncemore for a stall this year. If successful,lessons learnt from last yearwill help to ensure an evenmore profitable and successful event in2017.

Overthepastsixmonths,significantprogresshasbeenmadetowardsconsolidatinganddevelopinginternationalmarkets. InNovember2016,anewCommunicationsandMarketing Internwashiredon a three-month placement in the UK, tasked with evaluating the effectiveness and long-termviabilityofStitch’sinternationalretailstrategy.Sincetakingontherole,shehasupdatedtheonlinesales recordsandconducted research into the saleof Stitchproductsat variousevents in theUK,focusing particularly on how to generate greater profits and cover costs. The results of herassessmentwillbeusedtoinformanddevelopafuturestrategyforsalesintheUK.

3.8 Trialindependence

Throughout Phase III, one of the foci has been the steppedwithdrawal of support from SEED toincrease the independence of the embroidery association, thus supporting its long-termsustainability. InAugust2015theProjectCoordinator,whohadbeenpermanentlybased inSainteLucemanagingProjectStitch,returnedtotheUKhavingdeliveredkeytrainingandskillssharingtothe association to strengthen their autonomy and self-governance (see section 3.1). Increasedresponsibility was therefore placed on the local Malagasy Project Assistant throughout Phase III,supportedbyanInternationalProjectAssistantandSEED’scorestaff.TheMalagasyProjectAssistanthas been effective in building capacity in the day-to-day running of the association and hasfacilitated a steady transfer of skills and responsibilities to the embroiderers. During monitoringcompleted in July2016,allwomenstated theywerehappywith the runningofassociation in the

Bracelets on sale in the UK Stitch at the Handmade Fair A collection of vibrant Stitch products

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absenceoftheProjectCoordinator.

Aplannedvisitof theProjectCoordinator to theproject inMay2016wasunfortunatelycancelleddue tohealth reasons.However, theProjectCoordinator continued toprovide vital oversight andsupportfromtheUKthroughout2016.TheCoordinatorreturnedtoMadagascarforthelastmonthofPhaseIIItosupportthefinalmonitoring,evaluateprogressandidentifychallengesandissuesthathavearisensinceherabsence.

ThegradualincreaseintheabilityoftheembroidererstomanagetheassociationandcoordinatethebusinesselementsofStitchhasnaturally ledtoanincreaseinautonomyfortheembroiderers.Forexample,thewomennowtravel intoFortDauphinthemselvesonceamonthtocollectthemoneymadefrominternationalsales–ataskpreviouslycarriedoutbytheProjectAssistant.Moreover,thecross-visit to Soatanana has further fuelled the embroiderers’ aspirations for independence, withtwo-thirds of women confirming in the final monitoring that the exchange had increased theirconfidenceinanindependentStitchassociation.Despitethisprogress, it isrecognisedbyboththeembroiderersandSEEDproject staff that complete independencewill require further trainingandcapacitybuildingtocementlearningandensureactivitiesaresustainedfollowingthewithdrawalofSEEDsupport.Workingtogetherwithprojectstaffandtheembroiderers,theProjectCoordinatoriscurrently developing the next phase for Stitch to ensure the association continues to grow instrength,abilityandindependence.

4. Monitoring,EvaluationandLessons

4.1 Monitoring

ThroughoutPhase III,biannualmonitoringwasconducted toassessprogressand results,evaluatethe impactof theproject,andensurePhase III respondedtoemergingprioritiesandneedsof theembroiderersandthewidercommunity.Projectstaffconductedinterviewswitheachembroidererseparately and in confidence. The embroiderers were asked about income, expenditure, saving,quality of life, training and their thoughts on the association. The results were collated andcompared toboth thebaseline takenat thebeginningofProjectStitchandmonitoringconductedbeforePhaseIII,givingSEEDabroadoverviewoftheprojectimpact,bothtotheembroiderersandtheirfamilies.

Stitching an embroidered card Embroiderers at work in the studio

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Thefinalmonitoring,carriedoutinJanuary2017,indicatedthattheincomegeneratedbytheStitchembroiderers now directly supports 1813 people in Sainte Luce, proving food for 168 familymembersandschoolplacesfor54children.Thesenumbersarelikelytobeunder-representativeastheydonottakeintoaccountthepeoplesupportedbythe79associateembroiderers;thenumberofactualbeneficiariesofStitchSainteLuceisthereforeestimatedtobeover200peopleoraround10%ofthecommunity. Increasedincomenotonlyalleviatespoverty, italsoservesto increasethewomen’s social standing within both their households and the community. Over 50% ofembroiderers, 11 women, now bring in the largest share of household income, elevating theirpositioninthefamilyandgivingthemgreaterautonomyoverhouseholdexpenditure.

OnaveragetheembroiderersarenoweatingricewithLaoky,somevarietyofnutritionalside-dishsuchasfish,greensorbeans,14timesaweek(ortwiceeveryday).Thisdemonstratessignificantlyimproveddietandnutrition compared to the typicaldiet in Sainte Luceof cassava foreachmeal.proportionofdisposalincomespentonitemssuchasclothes,gifts,livestock,orhouse-buildinghasalso increased,makingup36%oftotalhouseholdexpenditure.Afurther9%of income isusedforsavings, also a sign of increased wealth, with the remaining 55% spent on food, healthcare andeducation.Manyoftheembroiderershaveachievedtheiraspirationalgoalsmadeatthebeginningof Project Stitch,withninewomenhaving built, or almost finishedbuilding, a newhouse.OthershavebeenabletobuyZebu(cattle,seeninMadagascarassymbolsofstatusaswellasinvestments),cookingpotsandsewingmachines.

4.2 SalesSales figures for Stitch Sainte Luce have continued to rise across the two project years, with asignificantincreaseinthesecondyearofPhaseIII(seeFigure1).In2014,beforethestartofPhaseIII,annualsalesamountedto33.9millionMGA.At theendofprojectyearone, throughoutwhichsignificanttimewasdedicatedtotraining,totalsalesfortheyearwere38.6millionMGAandbytheend of project year two, yearly sales had jumped up to 53millionMGA. In total, sales of Stitchproducts generated 91.7 million MGA, or over £23,000 GBP, during Phase III, leading to greatlyincreasedincomesfortheembroiderers.

3At181,thenumberofdirectbeneficiariesofStitchincomeshasdecreasedcomparedtomonitoringconductedinJuly2016,wherethefigurewas215.Alikelyexplanationforthisisthatassociateembroiderers,manyofwhomarefamilymemberstotheembroiderers,arenowregardedasbeingabletosupportthemselvesandarethusnolongerincludedasdependents.

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Sales inMadagascar have been strong, rising from10.4millionMGA in the sixmonths precedingPhase III to20.2millionMGA in the final sixmonthsofPhase III;an increaseofalmost100%(seeFigure2below).OnaverageacrossPhaseIII,nationalsaleshaveaccountedfor69%-oraroundtwo-thirds–oftotalsales,showingthatthere isastrongdomesticmarketforStitchproductsamongstvisitorstotheAnosyRegion.Themajorityofthesesaleshavebeenmadeinthestudio,toSEEDstaffand conservation volunteers and tourists to Sainte Luce. Profitable sales have also beenmade atopportunities across Madagascar, including sales to research students at Operation Wallecea inNorthernMadagascar and Peace Boat customers at the port in Fort Dauphin. Given the currentstrengthofnationalsales,opportunitiesforexpansionanddevelopmentofnewretailopportunitiesinMadagascarwillbeafocusfortheassociationmovingforwards.

Figure1.TotalSalesofStitchProducts

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Internationalsaleshavealsobeenhealthy,risingfrom12.3millionMGAinthefirstyearofPhaseIIIto 15.8 million MGA in the second year. This is testament to the commitment of SEED staff indeveloping and exploring international market chains and retail opportunities (see section 3.7above).ThefinalsixmonthsofPhaseIII,fromAugust2016–January2017,sawthelargestrevenuefrominternationalsalesofanysixmonthlyperiodinthehistoryoftheproject,generating9.8millionMGA.Internationalsalesaccountedforanaverageof31%oftotalsalesduringPhaseIII.

4.3 LessonsLearnt

PhaseIIIofProjectStitchintegratedmutuallysupportingactivitycomponentsandoutcomes,whichhaveyieldedanumberofopportunitiesforlearningacrossarangeofthemesandprojectareas,asoutlinedbelow.

4.3.1 Teaching English to the embroiderers proved to be more difficult than expected, withlearning and progress relatively slow. Many of the embroiderers had limited previouseducation, with varying levels of illiteracy within the group. Learning a foreign languagewithoutwritten prompts or readingmaterials proved challenging andmade opportunitiesforindependentstudylimited.TheremotelocationofSainteLucealsolimitedthefrequencyandregularityofEnglishteaching,withintensiveteachingoveroneweekonamonthlybasis.While this solution maximised teacher contact time, it limited opportunities for regularpractice.Tocombatthesechallenges inthefuture,Englishteachingwill focusonasmaller

Figure2.SalesofStitchProductsinMadagascar

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groupofmoreeducated,highlymotivatedembroidererswithin the sales team,helping toadvanceEnglishlevelswithintheassociationataquickerrate.

4.3.2 Therural locationofSainteLuce,coupledwithpoorroad infrastructureand limitedpublictransport options, created logistical challenges, particularly during rainy season. Onoccasion, there were difficulties in sending personnel to Sainte Luce, such as Englishteachers, ITtrainersandtheCommunityHealthOfficer,affectingthedeliveryofscheduledactivities. Therewere also at times issueswith telecommunications between office basedprojectstaffandstaffand/ortheembroiderersinthestudio.Theobstacleswereovercomebyflexibleworkplansandtheuseof4x4swhererequired.Aninsufficientelectricitysupplyfrom the studio solar panels created additional obstacles in the delivery of computertraining, preventing the embroiderers from practicing and experimenting with laptopsoutsideoflessons.

4.3.3 PhaseIIIhashighlightedseveralareaswherethemonitoringframeworkcouldbeupdatedorrefinedtoprovidemoreaccuratedataontheoutcomesand impactsofProjectStitch.Theframework was focused on the embroiderers, and therefore did not capture benefits toassociateembroiderersandtheirdependents.Thisissuewasidentifiedbyprojectstaffandfocus groups and meetings were conducted with associate embroiderers. Whist thisprovided some information on wider impact, the absence of regular monitoring made itdifficult to draw accurate comparisons or conclusions. Monitoring questions wereunchangedfromthebaseline,enablingSEEDtotrackprogressoverthecourseoftheprojectand draw comparisonswith earlier project phases. However, this reduced scope to revisequestionsinlightofchangingprioritiesorcircumstances.

4.3.4 ThroughoutthedevelopmentandexecutionofPhaseIII,oneofthestatedaimswasmakingtheStitchassociationindependentfromSEED(thenAzafady)support.However,theconceptandmeaningofindependencewasneverspecificallydefined,creatingambiguityonwhethercompletewithdrawalofSEEDsupportwasfeasibleordesirableinthetwo-yearperiod.Withhindsight, the target of full independence for the Stitch associationwithin two yearswasoverly ambitious, particularly in light of the growing international and online sales whichrequire fluent levels of English, computer literacy and the need for close workingrelationshipswith UK Stitch staff. SEED intends to build on the successes and learning ofPhaseIIIthroughafourthprojectphase,designedtostrengthenandexpandtheassociation,whilstalsobuildingmarkets(seesection5).

Producing a wall-hanging in the studio Purses for sale in the Studio

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5. ConclusionandFutureAction

DuringPhase III, significantprogress hasbeenmade towards ensuring the sustainability of ProjectStitchandsupportingtheStitchassociationtobecomeasuccessful, independentbusiness.TrainingandsupportgivenbySEEDstaffhasenabledtheembroidererstoformaworkingCommitteetoleadthe association, and establish a set of governing ruleswhich are respected by allmembers of theassociation. Through the operation of five teams running different aspects of the retail andproductionprocess, theembroiderersarenowable tomanagemostof theday-to-dayactivitiesofthebusinesswithlittleornosupport.TraininginEnglish,photographyandcomputerskillshavebuiltthecapacityoftheassociationtocoordinatesalesinMadagascar,whilstincreasingtheirknowledgeofandinputtointernationalsales.

ProjectStitchcontinuestobringarangeofpositivebenefitstothecommunityofSainteLuce,withtheembroiderersnowearningonaverage370%morethantheirpre-Stitchincomes.Acrossthefiveyears thatProjectStitchhasbeenrunning,SEEDhasseensignificant,marked improvements in thelivesoftheembroiderersandtheirfamilies, includingamorenourishingandsubstantialdiet,moremoneyforschoolfeesandeducation,theabilitytoaffordhealthcareandmedicinesandthemeanstosaveuptobuildnewhouses,buylivestock,andprotectagainstexternalshocks.Thisissupportedbyan increase in salesbothnationally and internationallyover the last twoyears. Theassociationnowliesinastrongpositiontomoveforwardandbuildonthesuccessesachievedsofar.

PhaseIIIhasalsobeenaninvaluablelearningcurveforboththeassociationandSEEDprojectstaff,yieldingmanylessonswhichwillinformanddeterminefutureactions.Throughongoingmonitoring,SEEDhasidentifiedthatfurthertrainingisrequiredtocementthelearningfromPhaseIIIandsecurethesustainabilityoftheStitchassociationasan independentbusinesswithoutexternalsupport.TothisendSEEDprojectstaff,inclosecollaborationwiththeStitchembroiderers,havebeendevelopingafourthphaseforProjectStitch.Aprioritygoingforwardswillbedevelopingastrategyforincreasingthe levels of English amongst the embroiderers, whilst also their confidence in speaking andinteractingwithcustomersandUKStitchstaff.Researchintoexpandingmarketsandsupportingthewomen to sustainably access these opportunities will also be a focus for the immediate future,buildingontheworkstartedattheendofPhaseIII.Furthersupportwill facilitatetheexpansionofthe association, enabling more women to receive the positive socio-economic benefits of ProjectStitch.