The Mighty Mechanical Sewing Machine

While we were in Vietnam, we went to see the tunnels at Cu Chi District of Ho Chi Minh City.  This is an immense network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong (from the Communist North) during the Vietnam War.  It was said to be the base of operations for the Tet (Lunar New Year) Offensive in 1968, a critical turning point in the war.  

The tunnels have very narrow and camouflaged entrances. Inside it can be very elaborate and some rooms can be sizeable.  

People hide, move around, shoot, sleep, live, plan, make munitions, sew clothes, and a lot more in there.  

A mechanical sewing machine caught my attention.  It is something I am quite familiar with, even though I cannot really use it.  It is powered by a paddle at the ground level that can be rocked back and forth by foot.  The rocking motion is used to drive a belt, which turns the spindle of the sewing machine above the paddle.  Which then translates the rotational motion into an up-and-down motion that drives the sewing needle.  It is deceptively simple. 

The Vietnam War took place in the 1960s and 70s.  The machine does look like it might be from that era, and quite familiar.  

This was also the time I was attending primary and secondary school in Hong Kong.  During those days my mother took care of the 3 of us.  She also sewed at home to make critical income in addition to my father’s salary. I helped to cut the loose ends of the threads from the clothes, flip them inside out and pull out the corners properly.  She used a sewing machine that look almost exactly like that one in the Vietnam tunnels.  

The additional income that my mother made using the sewing machine was very important for our family.  Particularly in the 1960s, when my father’s salary as a “semi-skilled" workman was very low, with 3 growing kids to feed, who also had to attend school.  

Nowadays many people in the developed world continue to use sewing machines.  But those, such as the one that my wife uses, tend to be powered by electricity.  Some can also be programmed to make special stitches and elaborate patterns, automatically.  

Yet in developing countries such as Rwanda, there are still many many people who depend on mechanical sewing machines to make a living.  This is particularly important in the countryside, where there is no electricity.  Wood and charcoal remain a major source of energy in many parts of Rwanda, as in many other sub-Sahara countries.  Even in the city, electricity can be unreliable and expensive.  Hence the technical sewing machine is much more dependable. 

It is not just women who sew.  In fact, I have seen more men than women sewing in Rwanda.  Many vocational school teach the skill to use these sewing machines.  A sewing machine makes a great gift, enabling someone to make a living. 

The mechanical sewing machine remains a potent tool - in my childhood in Hong Kong,  for the fighters in the Vietnam War, as well as families in present day sub-Sahara Africa.