Tohoku Grandmas

Have you heard of this group of ladies? An NHK documentary film debuted this month about them and their remarkable efforts.

Tohoku is the area hit by the earthquake and tsumani on March 11, 2011.  Many of the people who survived this disaster are still living in temporary housing and trying to recover. Kazu Huggler, a fashion designer who has Japanese and Swiss parents, donated five Bernina sewing machines to the “Tohoku Grandmas” after the disaster and an amazing collaboration began. These Grandmas lost family members, their homes, their kimonos and their sewing supplies. They began making small tote bags and eventually hundreds of sake cup pin cushions to make money to help the recover efforts of their area. Two of the Japanese Grandmas traveled to Switzerland in September of this year with Kazu to promote their handcrafts. The film is heart warming. It is amazing what a group of sixty something year old women are doing with their handcraft skill.  I hope you get the chance to see this film.