It is often said that clarity comes from engagement and we can attest to how true this has been for us in the last 6 months. Earlier in the year, we were selected as part of the Trigaventures Accelerator programme – this has benefited us immensely in terms of clarifying and refining our vision and strategy going forward. As part of the journey, we also had the opportunity to share on some of the challenges and opportunities facing South Africa and how we can be leaders of change.
One of the things we will be unpacking more next year, but will give a brief overview of now, is behind the scenes work on the making of some of our beautiful handicrafts. Each of our beaded jewellery and home decor baskets are intricately handmade with love and care by our skilled rural artisans. Through working with their hands and using their God-given gifts and skills of beading and basket weaving, our Mamas are able to put food on the table, send their children to school and provide a warm, safe and loving family environment. The beauty of handmade artefacts is that each one – like a painting by a skilled artist – is an original one of a kind work and no two created pieces are ever the same. Next time you buy or are gifted with one of our beautiful beaded jewellery or woven baskets, spend some time appreciating not only its workmanship and elegance on you, but also the socio-economic impact it has on the families we work with.
As we prepare to wrap up the year, we will be doing a number of pop-up events, exhibitions and markets around Gauteng. Most will be one or two day events, but we look forward to being at Kamers Irene from 4th-9th December. However, in preparation for gift season, we have also been doing some work on our website to make sure that we have a beautiful selection of gifts available there too. Visit our website to buy online – and we have free shipping for items over R500 within South Africa. For international shipping, please contact us and we will gladly provide you with a country specific quote in line with your specific needs.
It has been an exciting year and we look forward to making the most of the next few weeks till end of the year.
Till next month,
Nomaswazi Tinus
Founder & Director
African Mamas Crafts
This month’s article on ‘Stories from Home’ features Lungi Mantshontsho and her group of crafters from Mathawu Pottery in OR Tambo District, Eastern Cape. The OR Tambo District is named after the late Oliver Reginald Tambo and is home to the AmaMpondo (part of Xhosa speaking) people. It is also the birthplace of other well-known
Supporting rural development through crafts Mark Twain says that the secret to getting ahead is getting started. This was our year of getting started, the year that African Mamas Crafts was birthed. Having kick-started the process by taking care of the necessary registration paperwork, we embarked on a journey to find rural crafters to work with. What
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