88 Blake Hill Road, East Calais VT 05650
Phone: (734) 646-8051
Contact people: Elisha Renne
The Hausa people of Northern Nigeria are renowned for their production of voluminous robes known as babban riga, which are hand-embroidered and now machine-embroidered on cotton damask fabrics. In the town of Zaria in Northern Nigeria, robe embroidery was primarily done by men until the 1970s, when women began to take up hand embroidery work. In 1994, several excellent women embroiderers came together to form the group named Queen Amina Embroidery, in honor of the 16th century ruler of the Zazzau Emirate, Queen Amina. While Queen Amina Embroidery is a non-profit organization, managed by Hajiya Hassana Yusuf, that represents a small group of 25 women with modest returns, it provides income and an outlet for the embroidery work of Zaria City women.
