Albasat Project
If there is one project that explains the history of Awra Amba it is this project.
The 66 members of the founders community set up community formally in 1971 GC.
The members of the cooperative could spend their daily working hours, six days a week making all sorts of textile products such as blankets, table clothes, curtains, wall hangings, towels, Morning gowns, scarf’s , shawls, pillow cases, bed spreads, sofa throws, and many other products. Recently they have started making soft floor rugs and runners by looking at existing designs.
Almost all textiles products are made of cotton with the use of some polyester fibers in some products.
The miracle of Awra Amba is that it has found a unique way to combine the age old conundrum between the pursuit of public good and the search for private profit which all individuals are drawn to. Coming from peasants with no formal education this revolutionary solution to a universal problem that has bedeviled humanity for several thousand years is astounding and shows the genius of Zumra´s path of pragmatism and humanism.