SHAHLO NORBOEVA

SHOIDONA VILLAGE, TAJIKISTAN

Shahlo was born in Shoidana and she is 42 years old. After finishing high school she studied nursing, received her degree and got married the same year. Her husband did not want her to work in the hospital so she went to study biology and chemistry and became a schoolteacher. She has two children, and daughter and a son, and two grandchildren.

Shahlo loves fiber handicrafts, especially knitting and crocheting. In 2013 she started collaborating with a development project funded by IFAD that tried to set up export-oriented yarn-spinning groups in her community to create earning opportunities for poor rural women. The project succeeded in establishing the "Cashmere People Yarns" cooperative and Shahlo has played a key role in this success. She helped to organize and train the spinners, evaluate and price their yarn and register and manage the business after the project ended in 2017. In 2016 she was able to visit the United States together with three other spinners and meet their business partners including Casey Ryder of PortFiber who wholesales their yarn. But in 2017 Shahlo was diagnosed with breast cancer and has been struggling with the disease ever since. She is a strong, determined woman and has many plans for the future. Her hope is to fight off the disease so she can continue working the spinners, witness her son's wedding and watch her grandchildren grow. Thank you for helping her to achieve those dreams.

To help in her cancer treatment, please consider donating to her GoFundMe campaign.