
A group of Amalinda women have decided to put their financial future in their own hands and create opportunities for themselves through sewing.
The Sizamele Women’s Sewing Project is aimed at equipping women with the necessary tools and skills to benefit themselves financially and to be independent.
The project was established in November 2022, and has since enabled the 15 women to purchase sewing machines and start creating their own clothing items.
Sizamele co-ordinator Bulelwa Lukabya said the main aim of the project was to improve the lives of women by teaching them to be independent.
“Our goals are to change our situations as women.
“We hope to teach our children not to depend on anyone, start their own businesses at an early stage, and to alleviate poverty by sewing and selling our clothes.
“Maybe we can start sewing school uniforms, by this we can also help improve economy,” Lukabya said.
One of the members of the group, Nonyameko Kisana, said she had learned a lot from the project.
“I have learned to work in a group to help grow the project so we can get more sewing machines. It will help because now I can make some extra cash and put food on the table.
“I will also be able to pass on the skill to the younger generation,” Kisana said.
Lukabya insisted that while the needs of the group are plenty, the main thing they required was training.
“We are in need of material and ironing boards to help with making the clothes. More than that, we need training.
“We need someone who can come in and teach us more about making clothes and how to turn it into a business opportunity,” Lukabya said.
A study published in the Journal of Economics in 2015 found that women in small-scale businesses in the Eastern Cape contributed greatly to economic growth and job creation but their efforts were impeded by socioeconomic challenges.
These challenges include lack of training and experience, lack of industry management skills, lack of timely business information and the pressures of domestic responsibilities amongst other limiting factors.
Less than 2% of women-owned businesses have financial capital available and obtaining a loan from the bank is impossible without competencies such as business plan writing.
Domestic responsibilities such as child rearing mean that women have less time available to grow their businesses and this is exacerbated in the Eastern Cape where lack of service delivery makes household takes longer to complete.
With increased support self-employed women like the ladies of the Sizamele Women’s Sewing Project, would be able to drive local and national economic growth while also ensuring the livelihood of themselves and their families.
Lukabya said: “We hope that other women can start similar groups and start doing things for themselves.”