Ziegental

Ziegental, in Rumanian Tichindeal, has 200 inhabitants. 140 of these belong to the Romany ethnic community of which 100 are children. The remaining inhabitants are Rumanian. Jobs are non-existent. There is actually a school, however only a few of the children are able to take advantage of the educational opportunity. Quite often there is a lack of fundamentals: the hygienic conditions were precarious; in many of the homes there was no table on which to do homework. With the arrival of “Elijah” and TISCA came support and because there was no running water – a new well for the people of the village and a genuine perspective for the future.

Women as the anchor of the family and social cohesion

On the initiative of the “Elijah” social project, a bakery and a day care centre for children have been created. With the small-scale weaving mill, Tisca is pursuing the goal of improving the lives of the Roma people and their standing in society. When we heard about Elijah, we realised that our involvement in this area was urgently needed. The Vorarlberg rug factory now employs eight women who are between 20 and 35 years of age. None of them had any previous work experience. We provided some of them with training in our other external workshop in Bogatu Roman. The young weavers are now completing their work completely independently.

The women in Ziegental turn fine, wool-white and naturally coloured yarns into high-quality rugs. They sit in pairs at the old wooden weaving looms. With practised skills and under the scrutiny of the women, some one hundred rugs are made every month in different standard sizes. Rugs which meet the highest requirements of customers from all over the world.