When we met Lydia, she was already skilled in making bark cloth
but had no one to buy her products.
At our request, she agreed to teach some of the ladies in our widows program how to make bark cloth and, after spending time with the widows and learning about Jesus, Lydia became a Christian!
Now actively involved in her local church, Lydia and the group of widows she teaches study the Rafiki Bible Study together as they make bark cloth.

Crafted in Uganda for centuries, the skill of making of bark cloth takes great strength, stamina, and practice to master.
The producers of this surprisingly soft and supple material first strip
away the outer bark of trees so they can access the fibrous inner bark. They then slit the inner bark with a knife and peel it upward off the tree.
To soften the bark, they boil it in large pans and then pound it for
several hours with heavy wooden mallets until it is much thinner, wider, and softer.
This pounding technique gradually increases the size
of the cloth from its original width of
approximately 18 inches to between 7 and 9 feet.
​The bark is then sun dried and turns a gorgeous brown color.
Once it has dried, the cloth is ready to be used.