Cari Clement- SUPER HERO!
Ranked #854 in Nonprofits, #203,616 overall | Donates to Squidoo Charity Fund
One Woman's Choice To Give Back
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.
See What's Up With Rwanda Knits on Flickr
Candid pictures of Cari Clement and training sessions with womens' groups in Rwanda, East Africa
Rwanda Knits Blog
The latest news from Rwanda Knits
Fetching RSS feed... please stand by“The women of Rwanda Knits..are determined to make knitting their life-long income-producer.”
How I Connected With Cari Clement and Rwanda Knits
Cari was first my teacher, then my TV producer, then my mentor...and we still haven't met in person!
* I bought my first Bond Knittng Machine in 1997. I learned to knit with Cari on my Bond videos.* When a new model of the Bond was due to be released in 2000, my entire family appeared in the infomercial (I was even interviewed on camera!)
* In 2001 I began BadMsM's Knit-O-Rama online and the Northern California Bond Club to teach about machine and other alternative knitting techniques in the Bay and Central Valley California areas. We now have over 135 members worldwide!
* When Cari began Rwanda Knits, I read her updates with a lot of excitement. What a great way to foster peace and prosperity!
* In 2004, I was able to travel to Uganda with a local church group and 10 Bond machines and a lot of yarn. Our first cooperative consisted of 22 women in the village Mpala, outside Entebbe.
* In 2005, we went back to Uganda with 10 more machines and started 5 more cooperatives in Kampala and Jinja (Uganda), Kenya and Rwanda with the help of our first group. Cari and other machine knitters gave me their full support, and I even was able to speak in London while the G8 Summit was in session.
Cari has been a wonderful source of information, resources and encouragement over the years. She has never been too busy to help me by phone or email- even while changing planes in London!
Thanks, Cari, for all you do! You've helped me become a better person by showing me a way to help others.
Click here to learn more about my knitting adventures on Squidoo!

The Urumuri Womens' Co-op, Negasambu, Rwanda
More About Cari Clement
Cari has a BS (1971) in Textiles and Fashion Marketing in the school of Home Economics (now in the School of Business Administration) from the University of Massachusetts.
Rwanda Knits Link List
Find out more about companies that support or sell items from Rwanda Knits
- Rwanda Knits
- Rwanda Knits is growing quickly with the original 17 associations having formed 28 knitting cooperatives around the country.
- The Amber Chand Collection
- The Amber Chand Collection: Global Gifts for Peace and Understanding is a mission-based enterprise that fully supports women in regions of conflict and post-conflict - as mothers, peace builders, entrepreneurs, and skilled artisans.
- Made For Peace
- Anne Kellett, who has traveled with Cari Clement to Rwanda and has assisted in training the knitters, established this site for those who wanted to purchase knitted items made by the Rwanda Knits cooperatives.
- Caron Yarn International
- You've known for years that Caron is your source for America's #1 Soft Yarn-Simply Soft®. Did you also know that the Simply Soft family of yarns is growing all the time?
- Economic Development Imports
- ED (Economic Development) Imports is a company based in NYC that imports fairly traded goods from developing countries. It has partnered with Rwanda Knits to contract with the knitters to make knitted goods for export.
“With a far-away project to nurture...life couldn't be better. ~ Cari Clement”
Cari Clement's Business Credentials
Cari's background is in product development, marketing and knitwear design. She has owned her own retail yarn stores, manufactured her own line of knitwear, designed hand and machine knitting patterns for magazines and co-owned Bond America.
What Do You Think Of Rwanda Knits?
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CoolFoto
Oct 28, 2009 @ 9:19 am | delete
- Thanks for telling the world about Cari! and about yourself, too! This is the way to world peace!!
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SemperFidelis
Sep 4, 2008 @ 8:56 pm | delete
- Cari is a most excellent hero (and lens)!
Blessed, 5-starred, and favorited by a Squid Angel today! :)
Colleen ~ www.squidoo.com/squid-angel
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poutine
Aug 9, 2008 @ 12:37 pm | delete
- I'm in awe of Cari.
Thanks for introducing her to us.
Poutine
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Shawna-Tayler
Jul 27, 2008 @ 9:13 am | delete
- Congratulations on LOTD! Just think of all the good
in the world that could be done if each of us had vision like Cari!
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KimGiancaterino Jul 23, 2008 @ 3:42 pm | delete
- Welcome to the Help Africa Group. Thanks for sharing about Cari. Squid Angel Blessed!
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