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Namtenga Project scarves are made by weavers in Africa as part of a partnership with Cranbrook Schools. (ED NAKFOOR)

by GEORGEA KOVANIS

The hand-woven scarves being sold at Optik Birmingham have a story behind them that's as interesting as the scarves are to look at.

In 2000, Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills began raising money for Namtenga, an impoverished village in the West Africa country of Burkina Faso, where a Cranbrook parent worked while in the Peace Corps. Cranbrook supports Namtenga's school, providing supplies, uniforms, a well with a pump, a children's garden, mosquito netting and a playground.

In 2005, the Cranbrook Kingswood Weaving Studio came up with an idea. Why not open a weaving studio there?

Cranbrook bought 15 looms, hired a weaving instructor and opened the Weaving Sisters of Namtenga. More than 30 village women dye, weave and sew blankets and scarves, earning income for their families.......

Read more at -  http://www.freep.com/article/20100117/FEATURES13/1170358/1025/Features/Hand-made-African-scarves-help-families