Refugee women have joined forces to inspire and empower others through a new Ballarat business venture.
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Women of the Well is a retail space opening soon in Bridge Mall, selling one-of-a-kind clothing, homewares and accessories incorporating recycled fabrics and authentic Ankara prints.
Four South Sudanese women make each item by hand, and proceeds go straight back into the business to cover costs like rent.
The women are all part of Ballarat's Multicultural Women's Group and have all raised children in Australia after escaping civil war.
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Mary Top said the idea of the shop was to show other women, younger generations, or "anyone who's been through a lot" that they can make a positive contribution to their community.
The women - who came to Australia never having had the opportunity to go to school or learn English - learned to sew three years ago with help from a local church.
Some have been single parents after the stresses of moving countries took their toll.
"It was a really, really tough journey for us," Mary said.
"But it was never an option to give up and let our children just run around doing the wrong thing.
"Let's just inspire them and show them if we can do something, how much more they can do while they have this opportunity we never had to go to school, to have freedom to speak for yourself without other people making decisions for you.
"Our kids now, they're here and they have that choice, and we need to help them and teach them and tell them if we can do this and make something happen, how much more can they do?"
The shop's name represents resilience and "hope for tomorrow".
"We have a lot of wells in the rural areas where we grew up," Mary said.
"Our mothers and our grandmothers walked for miles to fetch the water from the well, and that was enough water for the whole village.
"This is our village, and we're going to be like that well that never runs dry.
"We just have hope we never run dry on."
The plan is to open in August, four days a week.
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