Cari Clement- SUPER HERO!

Cari Clement is the Director of Fashion and Design for Caron International, a spinner and importer of hand knitting and crochet yarn for retail sale. She is the former co-owner of Bond America, a domestic knitting machine manufacturer which she sold to Caron in 2003. She is also the Founder and Director of
Rwanda Knits, a project that helps low-income women in Rwanda earn a living through knitting.

"I have always wanted to assist in creating a women's economic cooperative, but did not know where to start...As for many of us, September 11th pushed aside those rationales and gave me added resolve to see how we as a company and I as an individual could contribute in our own small way to encouraging global economic cooperation which ultimately leads to greater global peace."

In late 2001, Cari contacted UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees), offering to donate machines and training wherever they were needed in the world. Her donation of the initial 60 machines expanded through a USAID grant to Rwanda Knits in 2005. This grant funded the purchase of over 600 knitting machines, accessories, yarn and training. It also assisted 17 Rwandan women's groups (approx 1,200 women) in setting up 28 knitting cooperatives to sell goods produced for domestic and export markets.

Cari has traveled to Rwanda nine times, pays personally for all her travel expenses and, in whatever spare time she has, writes grants for the project. 100% of all donations go directly to Rwanda Knits in Rwanda.

Cari's goals for Rwanda Knits is for the knitting cooperatives to be fully sustainable within five years. Orders have been received for over 2,000 school uniform sweaters and the market is just being researched for other domestic and regional products. Small orders for export are also under way but more technical and business training is needed, as these women are building their own businesses from the ground up.