Laini - A Glimpse into the Life of One of Our Seamstresses

Che Norlaini (Laini) gained three months of practical, hands-on work experience sewing in addition to honing in on her skills for six months but still was not confident enough to pursue it further before the Batik Boutique stepped in to help. She now feels a lot more confident in her skills with the training sessions provided and continual practice. Sewing techniques she had once learned and since forgotten are being picked up again in the training sessions. These sessions are helping her financially also because the better she becomes at her work the more she will be able to earn because less time will be spent fixing mistakes. This training is even allowing her to dream bigger than before. She dreams of either setting up an online business selling headbands and cartoon pouches or sewing beading on wedding dresses.

Having a stable income means that Laini is now able to provide for her family herself. What Laini earns from the Batik Boutique’s projects eases her financial burden and allows her to even treat her children to something special once in a while. This means the world to Laini because her family is everything to her. In her off time, Laini enjoys sewing clothes for her children to wear. Her children love Laini’s sewing so much that they often come asking for more. Laini also is the family cook. She often makes Tom Yam since it is a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation that her children especially favor. Laini is always busy either cooking, cleaning the house, sewing for her family, helping her children with homework, sewing for the Batik Boutique or teaching her four-year-old how to read yet still finds the time to commit to improving herself.

Her commitment and care is astounding in the face of adversity when presented with a challenging task. Right now, she loves sewing our batik pouches even though they challenge her abilities. Her favorite item to sew are dresses but even if she isn’t working on her favorite product, she puts forth the effort to make it of high quality hoping for the satisfaction of the end user. Laini is very thankful to the Batik Boutique for giving her a source of reliable income but is even more grateful to the Batik Boutique’s customers for making it all possible. She smiled when talking of the loyalty and endless support received this far impacting how both she and her family live out their lives.