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Our partners in South Africa

Thungelimpilo1

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Thunglimpilo

In March/April 2022, a very long journey leads to the remote border area of Eswatini, Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal. Here, north of the great Jozini Dam, lies Ngwavuma, one of South Africa's poorest regions.
8 women from Sivukile Ingwavuma (NPC non-profit company) welcome us and invite us to a traditional meal of curry, mashed beans and pumpkin leafy vegetables. It is simply delicious and we are deeply touched by their open hospitality! They show us their center which was built in 2006. They are also proud of the water tanks that were purchased from donations. They help grow vegetables. Now, in addition to embroidery, any woman can grow and sell yams, papaya, avocados, beans, and bananas. Despite the proximity to the large Jozinidam, this region does not benefit from the water and has to be self-sufficient. But they do report a "Plan of Action", a "Turnaround Strategy", a program that is intended to help them to develop themselves better, to take their future into their own hands.


40 Zulu women who live between 5 and 30 km from the center produce colorful embroidery work from the African continent! They embroider pictures from everyday life, Zulu culture, fauna and flora. You can purchase these finest works of art from us (www.trusted-craft.com), in formats ranging from key rings to picture frames to art pictures in the format 33cm x25cm. Life as perceived by the artists, in free expression, are rare, unique pieces and works of art from this sunny region of Africa.

We are the women of Thungelimpilo. We live in Ngwavuma  a peaceful rural area in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Our area has not yet developed sufficiently. There are still problems, even though we now have water tanks. We now get water close by, which helps us to have enough time for our work. We are now able to stitch in the evening too,  because we now have electricity.
We are now able to send off our work in time. Even though COVID-19 came and had a negative impact on our orders, we have continued to live. We love our work and we are passionate about it, because it makes us stay alive.
If we could get a chance to be developed in our work, we would wish for progress towards expertise in our field, in terms of gaining additional knowledge.