In June, 1977, a 2-week tie-dyeing and batik training program was undertaken for 12 Malian community development workers by a newly formed cooperative of urban dyers in Gambia. Need for income-producing activity for women in the Bambara regions of rural Mali led to a decision to promote cloth processing and in 1974 training sessions were held in dyeing methods using indigo, mud, and chemical dyes. Unlike deliberate efforts in Mali to create income-producing activity, Gambian businesswomen in the 1960s had perceived cloth processing as a new and exploitable market. In addition to pattern techniques, Malians studied Gambian use of dyes and color. Tie-dye trainees practiced on one yard cloth pieces and created sample pattern books to use as teaching tools in Mali. Two trainees spent three weeks at a batik workshop learning the basics of that craft, entirely new to them. Gambian designs began appearing in Mali within two months of the trainees' return, training programs were set up in several districts, and plans were underway to improve communications and quality control. Gambian dyers gained a sense of satisfaction and prestige from their roles as teachers, and a beginning realization of the benefits that can accrue from group action. (BRR)