'fashion is what i am'

To kick off the project, we asked some of our workshop participants to write a poem or a letter to express what design means to them. Many of our participants wrote about having the need to create something because it made them feel good about who they are. Our mission at The Tswalo project is to stimulate this need to create by providing support and inspiration.

Bongi, Sam and Zelda tell us why they want to be designers. photo: Kent Lingeveldt

green technology

In partnership with Hands On Design, we make stylish sleeves specially for your laptops, ipods and smart phones. Each sleeve is beautifully made using 70-100% recycled material.

making a difference, a stitch at a time :)

Once the hub of the textile industry in South Africa, many skilled seamstresses in Cape Town are now unemployed with the increasing influx of chinese textile imports. We believe there is an opportunity to preserve and develop garment making skills and create a new micro industry that thrives on a sustainable empowerment model.
Because we are largely making use of reclaimed material and garment offcuts, each product
we produce is unique.

something old, something new

 

Week-by-week, we explore new ways of recycling and reusing materials that have been damaged or discarded.  We provide a creative workshop space where the participants are given the opportunity to brainstorm how to use waste products to turn them into a material that can be used to create something new.

In traditional African societies, women were assigned the role of educator. Girls approaching adulthood were specifically trained in their responsibilities and duties, and taught life-skills. Elderly women were responsible for this training, and they often did this by passing on stories that conveyed moral teachings and clear messages about life. In cities, this delicate system of passing on knowledge has been lost. Through this project, we hope to foster relationships between younger and older women where this kind of interaction can take place. The older women assist with training, formally by passing on their sewing and craft-making skills, and informally by passing on life lessons and skills.

photography: sthembiso mntambo

in the bag

This week we designed patterns for bags made from recycled fabric donated to us by Truworths.

photography: sthembiso mntambo & greer valley

thinking OUT the box: creative thinking workshop with Juma Mkwela

we love fashion made from recycled products

In partnership with the NGO, Etafeni Early childcare development centre in Nyanga, Cape Town & with support from UnLtd South Africa, 8 young women from Zonnebloem Nest High School were selected to participate in a 12 week creative design workshop where they will explore ways of reusing waste products to turn them into material that can be used to create a new garment or product.

While Etafeni’s focus is early child care development,  they also run an income generation programme for adults who are significant in the lives of the children who are cared for at the centre. The caregivers who participate in the income generation programme are trained in beadwork, smocking, patchwork and embroidery. 4 of the caregivers will participate in the programme & share their skills with the younger women.

photography: greer valley