Humanitarian handicrafts as (dis)empowerment of women 'left behind' : A Swedish help to self-help project in the Northern Greek village Vlasti, 1963-88
(2025) In Humanitarianism: Key Debates and New Approaches p.224-253- Abstract
- Textile handicrafts are often seen as an important tool for women to handle times of crisis and societal change. This chapter explores and discusses the Swedish humanitarian organisation Individuell Människohjälp (Swedish Development Partner), IM, and its strategies of developing local traditions of textile handicraft work as help to self-help in the small mountain village of Vlasti in Northern Greece, 1963–1988. It is a period affected by various crises – the memories of occupation and civil war in the 1940s, the takeover of the military junta and dictatorship, as well as social and economic hardship. It is also a time of urbanisation, labor migration and family separation. When most men had died in the wars or left for work in other... (More)
- Textile handicrafts are often seen as an important tool for women to handle times of crisis and societal change. This chapter explores and discusses the Swedish humanitarian organisation Individuell Människohjälp (Swedish Development Partner), IM, and its strategies of developing local traditions of textile handicraft work as help to self-help in the small mountain village of Vlasti in Northern Greece, 1963–1988. It is a period affected by various crises – the memories of occupation and civil war in the 1940s, the takeover of the military junta and dictatorship, as well as social and economic hardship. It is also a time of urbanisation, labor migration and family separation. When most men had died in the wars or left for work in other places, women, children and the elderly were left behind. IM identified that support systems for these groups needed to be bolstered to help them cope with detrimental impacts of the crises. Through analysing the narratives and practices of IM, as published in newsletters, reports, memory accounts and a documentary film, the chapter discusses strategies of gender empowerment through access to human, social and economic resources and the challenges to such projects. The chapter then shows how the narratives and practices are embedded in contemporary gender norms and how the entanglements of gender, empowerment and handicrafts are ambivalent. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/271f5fc0-37fc-4ed8-97f3-e89995029d08
- author
- Småberg, Maria LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-10-09
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Humanitarian handicraft : History, materiality and trade, c. 1840-1980 - History, materiality and trade, c. 1840-1980
- series title
- Humanitarianism: Key Debates and New Approaches
- editor
- Barber, Claire ; Dampier, Helen ; Gill, Rebecca and Taithe, Bertrand
- pages
- 30 pages
- publisher
- Manchester University Press
- ISBN
- 9781526188045
- 9781526188021
- DOI
- 10.7765/9781526188045.00016
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 271f5fc0-37fc-4ed8-97f3-e89995029d08
- date added to LUP
- 2025-11-07 09:57:37
- date last changed
- 2025-11-17 16:56:43
@inbook{271f5fc0-37fc-4ed8-97f3-e89995029d08,
abstract = {{Textile handicrafts are often seen as an important tool for women to handle times of crisis and societal change. This chapter explores and discusses the Swedish humanitarian organisation Individuell Människohjälp (Swedish Development Partner), IM, and its strategies of developing local traditions of textile handicraft work as help to self-help in the small mountain village of Vlasti in Northern Greece, 1963–1988. It is a period affected by various crises – the memories of occupation and civil war in the 1940s, the takeover of the military junta and dictatorship, as well as social and economic hardship. It is also a time of urbanisation, labor migration and family separation. When most men had died in the wars or left for work in other places, women, children and the elderly were left behind. IM identified that support systems for these groups needed to be bolstered to help them cope with detrimental impacts of the crises. Through analysing the narratives and practices of IM, as published in newsletters, reports, memory accounts and a documentary film, the chapter discusses strategies of gender empowerment through access to human, social and economic resources and the challenges to such projects. The chapter then shows how the narratives and practices are embedded in contemporary gender norms and how the entanglements of gender, empowerment and handicrafts are ambivalent.}},
author = {{Småberg, Maria}},
booktitle = {{Humanitarian handicraft : History, materiality and trade, c. 1840-1980}},
editor = {{Barber, Claire and Dampier, Helen and Gill, Rebecca and Taithe, Bertrand}},
isbn = {{9781526188045}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{10}},
pages = {{224--253}},
publisher = {{Manchester University Press}},
series = {{Humanitarianism: Key Debates and New Approaches}},
title = {{Humanitarian handicrafts as (dis)empowerment of women 'left behind' : A Swedish help to self-help project in the Northern Greek village Vlasti, 1963-88}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.7765/9781526188045.00016}},
doi = {{10.7765/9781526188045.00016}},
year = {{2025}},
}