This Women's Work

Pray God you can cope.
I stand outside this woman's work,
This woman's world.
Ooh, it's hard on the man,
Now his part is over.
Now starts the craft of the father.

I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things I should've said,
That I never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go,
Make it go away.

Give me these moments back.
Give them back to me.
Give me that little kiss.
Give me your hand.

(I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.)

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things we should've said,
That were never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things that you needed from me.
All the things that you wanted for me.
All the things that I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go away.
Just make it go away now.

Kate Bush
1989

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Once upon a time,

there was a group of women who lived in a village far away from here. This village was hidden from the main road and because of this very few cars drove by. A bumpy road could take you to where they lived and worked hard. If you saw the sign in time.

Here, in a bullet-ridden building, this group of women sat together on mats to weave baskets. To somehow craft a living.

Their work began before this, however. They first had to walk many miles to extract a plant that would eventually become a fiber they could work with. This plant grew over their lakes and rivers and dried up their precious water, all the while killing off life forms that lived in that water.

Into the murky swamp, they would step, many with their small children wrapped about their backs, to extract this invasive plant. Each tendril was removed from the root, ironed by hand and spread on the road to dry in the morning sun.

Then they would wait while this plant dried. While they waited, they looked after their children and husbands. They worked the farm, made the food, fetched the water, and then some. They walked everywhere.

Eventually, the dried fiber would be braided into long strips that could then be used to weave baskets, hats and sandals. Items that would garner them a meager wage: about $2 a day. Their husbands saw this as a reasonable contribution to the household if they could actually persist with it.

But the orders didn’t come in. And they never got better at weaving so the quality of their work didn’t improve. Because of this, they had to return to their work on the farm in order to ensure there was secure income and food for their families. The art of weaving was about to be lost in their community.

And then one day,
Something changed.

They awoke to find that instead of having a run-down building, they had a large factory. This factory is clean and has all the necessary space and tools allowing them to work comfortably and effectively.

Their weaving is known to be some of the best in the region.
They even have a store where they sell their products.
They are no longer making small baskets but rather crafting furniture and other functional items that garner them about $150 per week.
They no longer work on the farm because they are at the factory full-time in order to keep up with the demand.
And they are receiving orders from all over. On their mobile phones.
They have a bank account.
They have a solid business plan, which means they are sustaining themselves without wondering where the funding will come from.
They have invented their own designs for the products they make.
They are training the youth to be the next generation of workers in their community factory.

Their young children have space to play and rest nearby while their school-aged children are busy learning at the local school.
They each have a bicycle they can ride. It carries children, food and other things.
They have water to drink. And it is clean and easily accessed.
They are seeing the water levels return to proper levels in the lakes and rivers.
Their community is eating fish again.
They have found alternate uses for the plant so that they can solve other needs like having enough safe cooking fuel.
They are being recognized as innovators in their country.
They are living longer.
They can support their family, contribute to their community and help protect their precious environment.

Kara Pecknold
2008
Narrative Inquiry