Women Refugees Join Their Cottage Industries Sisters at Rag Rug Festival & Design Collective

Rag Rug Festival & Design Collective • Santa Fe, presented by New Mexico Women’s Foundation, continues to grow and expand its offerings. Now in its 7th year, this women’s cottage industries marketplace has grown into a statewide movement involving women artisans from throughout New Mexico, and newly arrived refugee women offering a rich variety of handmade items for sale, including rag rugs, and other handcrafted home furnishings and personal adornments.

For the first time, refugee women from Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, Bhutan, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Nepal, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan who are now living in Albuquerque also will be included. They have recycled rice and bean bags into colorful tote bags, and embellished recycled fabrics from France and Spain with images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and turned them into decorative pillows. And their rag and wool weavings fashioned on small looms made in New Zealand will be charming additions to home furnishings collections. 

This year’s festival will be held August 14 - 16 at the Stewart Udall Center for Museum Resources, 725 Camino Lejo on Museum Hill in Santa Fe. The event begins with a preview reception and sale from 4 to 7pm on Friday, August 14th. A special grand opening ceremony, featuring the African music group Matunda, is set for 3:45pm. Tickets for Friday’s event are $50.

Admission is free on Saturday and Sunday; the festival is open from 10am - 4pm. Parking is plentiful and free.

“The idea behind cottage industries is one with a long and valued history in our country,” said NMWF board member Lynda Rodolitz. “In particular, it’s a way for women to earn money to help themselves and their families by selling their work and becoming entrepreneurs by honing their marketing skills. For the general public, it’s a way of connecting with the women who are involved in creating the work, some of which references the history of our state,” Rodolitz said.