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'Dolly' makes debut at Mattoon festival

Somali Dollies Reminder submitted photo
By Lori O' Brien

Correspondent



SPRINGFIELD The Somali Dolly is the brainchild of a Leeds woman but the inspiration came from a Somali Bantu woman now residing in the city.

"The idea to make dolls was mine, but the inspiration came from the pleasure Madina Birken found in sewing," Heidi Stevens said, a friend and English teacher who has provided a "small link to American culture" for two Somali Bantu women whose families had been relocated to Springfield from refugee camps in Kenya more than two years ago.

In 2004 there was a collaborative effort by several city agencies to provide services for the Somali Bantus. The agencies were Jewish Family Services, the Urban League, Catholic Charities, Refugee/Immigrant Assistance, The Caring Health Center and Mercy Medical Center's Health Care for the Homeless. Springfield has been designated a Preferred Community site since it supports arriving refugees for their assimilation into a new community.

Stevens met Birken and Amina Muya through her work with Jewish Family Services and the idea of dolls seemed right because they are universal.

"Almost every culture has had some representation in a doll form," said Stevens.

Birken and Muya have started a business, Somali Bantu Stitchers, and will be among the vendors during the Mattoon Festival in the city Sept. 9-10. Stevens will also accompany the women both days at the festival.

The doll-making idea took flight after Stevens noticed how much enjoyment Birken received when she participated in a sewing class for Somali refugee women during the winter of 2004 at the Massachusetts Career Development Institute (MCDI).

"I saw how much all the women enjoyed sewing and making things," said Stevens, adding "they especially liked using the sewing machine."

Stevens said it was a "beautiful gathering with several women in colorful head scarves and bright, long dresses chatting, laughing and helping each other pin hems."

The MCDI instructor taught the women how to make simple items like pin cushions and fabric drawstring bags and skirts with elastic waists, according to Stevens.

"We had already found donated sewing machines for a few of the women to use at home," said Stevens, adding that Birken continued to make skirts for herself and her daughter. While Birken was home caring for her ailing mother and toddler daughter, Stevens felt compelled to help her work on something at home while she was caring for her family.

Since Stevens said she had a lot of scrap fabric, the Somali Dolly venture seemed like a perfect inexpensive project to try out. Stevens rummaged through a local library and found a doll-making book and adapted the simplest pattern in it for the Somali Dolly.

"I made a prototype and the Somalis liked it a lot," she said.

In the spring of 2005, Birken and Stevens worked once a week for a few hours on English and slowly made dolls together. Stevens explained that there are many steps involved in the doll-making process, from sewing, stuffing, embroidering hair and sewing dresses and head scarves to beading necklaces and painting faces. She test marketed the dolls at a fall craft fair and sold two dolls.

"Madina took great pride in earning some money for her family and was very encouraging so we continued working on them and in the spring, Madina's friend and neighbor Amina joined in," Stevens said.

The three women went to another craft fair in Amherst in June and sold more dolls.

"Each week I spend a couple of hours with them guiding them through the doll-making process, sewing, sipping coffee, and talking with them," Stevens said. "We practice speaking English and they teach me Somali words and phrases. We have a good time."

Stevens still provides the materials, including silk and rayon scarves she finds at yard sales, as well as fabric scraps from friends.

"We are not at the point yet to invest their small profits into material costs," she added. "These families are very poor and they use the money they earn for food."

Stevens said they are taking this venture very slow, keeping it "fun and doable."

"I look forward to the day when the women can go to the fabric store themselves, buy the yardage and other supplies needed, take orders over the phone, ship their product out and put their profits in the bank," she added.

Currently, The Mill River Gallery in Williamsburg and Crooked House Designs in Easthampton carry the Somali Dolly.