Prosperity Through Empowerment

Mothers Cooperative
Shopping Fresh & GreenMake a Donation
The Heart of the Matter

Mothers’ Stories

The ladies in our Mothers Coop come from varied backgrounds with a common theme: extreme poverty. Without skills or support, many had to rely on begging or prostitution simply to feed their family. But when they came into our community, they left all that behind, and Muday Mitiku has found them safe accommodation in concert with her other concern, the Muday Charity Association. 

Earning a Living

A Skill for Life

Many of the women in our Mothers Coop did not have a marketable skill when they arrived, but they are taught traditional craft skills, which will make them employable even if their journey takes them away from Fresh & Green Academy.

Some are taught to weave locally sourced cotton into beautiful scarves. In fact the cotton is spun from the raw, and dyed here as well before coming to life on traditional hand-powered looms.

Other crafts include pottery, baskets, wickerware, sandals and jewellery.

And the bakers of bread and injera run thriving businesses which contribute to revenues, bringing us closer to self-sufficiency. 

Feeding 500 people a day

Food Production

The ladies are responsible for feeding about 500 students, mothers, teachers, staff and guests 3 meals a day when food is available. Whether it is available depends on donations both locally and through our organization.

While much of the food is cooked over an open fire in our compound, the ladies also run an injera-making operation which sells this local flatbread all around Addis Ababa. In 2018, Muday commissioned a wood-fired oven to bake bread, and it is sold for profit to the local hospital and prison. Both businesses contribute to the finances of the Academy as well as providing the ladies with an income.

Ways to Support the Mothers

Shop for the Cause

We are working on how best to showcase our Mothers Coop crafts and hope to have a better shopping experience for you. If you would like to see samples of the scarves, please visit our U.S. Etsy store, and if you see one that you like, email us at:

neil[AT]friendsoffreshandgreen.org 

and we’ll see if we have something close in stock in Canada instead.

U.S. residents can continue to use Amazon Smile and Goodshop to support our American partner.