LOOKING at her two small children under her care, and no one to turn to, Anitha Sankar decided that once there is life within her, there is hope. That spasm of strength jolted the palm of her hands and realising that the answer may be between those palms, Anitha got up and immediately manifested that talent.

Despite not receiving any prior training or not realising that she had the potential, her only teacher of art and craft was the innate desire to provide for her young and because she followed her motherly intuition, she is now the proud owner of her very own craft shop located in the WD’s shopping mall in Charity, Essequibo. Anitha, who is now 45 years old, mastered the art of creating beautiful craft products from the tibisiri and nibbi straw. This range from furniture, accessories, handbags, hats, baskets, clothing, ornaments and so much more. When asked how she moved from making a simple necklace to beautiful tibisiri chairs and furniture, Anitha said, “I just realised that I had the skill from one thing to the next and I keep going and going.”

Speaking of the process from sourcing the raw materials to knotting the final straw on her products, Anitha said that it is very tedious, but it has to be done. “You get the tibisiri from the etea tree and the nibbi comes from a tree that grows on the ground and you cut it, peel it, soak it, dry it, split it, it’s very hard work, it takes time, but you have to do what you have to do,” she explained. Despite this she said that she loves her job and everything relating to it. This love even motivated her to try sewing and knitting which she has also mastered and now produces beautiful clothing and household décor.

Since she started 10 years ago, her business has expanded and to satisfy the demand on the market, Anitha sometimes purchases craft from other persons as well as the raw materials as it is too time-consuming to do everything on her own. With this expansion, several persons now benefit and can also feed their children, she highlighted.

Looking back on the many challenges and stumbling blocks she overcame and the things she achieved, Anitha is proud to say that her two children were never hungry and most importantly are educated. Her older daughter is now a teacher while the youngest is still in secondary school. While education was a priority, she also taught them the skills of craft and they are able to assist her when she is in need of help. “Once I need money to get something, before the day is out, I get it, once I need money to send my children off to school, I get it, that is the hope and encouragement I get from my business,” she said.

She encourages other single mothers and anyone experiencing financial challenges to seek out their potentials and create avenues to earn. “I encourage people who interested in doing something to make their living whatever they choose to do, just go for it, don’t sit down and wait on someone, you can be independent,” she said.