Stories From Home

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 […]

Seeds of Hope Last month we had the pleasure of hosting our annual gathering with our Kwazulu-Natal crafters.  It is always a time of huge excitement and anticipation for me when we get to fellowship face-to-face.  Off course there is always lots of discussion around family, food and work.  This year, I was even more […]

Making the Most of It Recently I was speaking to a friend who is doing something they really love and have wanted to do for a long time – and she was sharing how much she is enjoying the current work she is doing. Often we don’t think of work as something to be enjoyed – […]

Counting Our Blessings There is a childhood song we used to sing growing up which speaks of “counting your blessings, naming them one by one – and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”  2017 has been a phenomenal year for us at African Mamas Crafts, not because of any ONE great thing – […]

As we are in the last mile of the year, I am reminded daily that I need all my energy to focus on the goals at hand and stay in the game. Every trade event, every customer interaction and feedback, every Facebook like, every training and learning experience, every word of encouragement  – and criticism has fueled […]

A legacy of hope In speaking about an inheritance vs a legacy – Mark Batterson in his book Chase the Lion, says that an inheritance is what you leave for someone – and a legacy is what you leave in someone.  He goes further to say that legacy isn’t measured by what you accomplish during your […]

Happy Women’s Month One of the things I have come to truly enjoy with our business is the satisfaction of seeing a customer who is satisfied and content with their purchase. Whether this is something they buy for themselves or a gift for a friend; their look of contentment and satisfaction is priceless.  For some […]

Happy Fathers Day Having both our national soccer team Bafana Bafana and the rugby team the Springboks thrash their opponents so well last weekend – was cause for great celebration at home for my hubby and our two boys.  To keep the peace, I stayed far away from the TV remote and their man cave!  Their instructions […]

One at a Time With the 1st quarter of the year done and dusted, it’s always a good idea to check progress on the goals we have set ourselves for the year.  Top of the list for African Mamas Crafts was finishing annual financial statements and submitting returns at SARS and CIPC.  As it turns […]

Going leaner to go further In June last year our family moved to a smaller home, having sold our house a year earlier and invested the proceeds.  We rented for 10 months before making the decision to buy a smaller place.  In the process we made decisions about what furniture, clothes, books and toys to keep […]

Happy Holidays As we wrap up 2016, we are very grateful to all those who have supported us in various ways this year.  Without you and your support we would not have made the strides we did. Thank You. Till next year, Goodbye, Salani Kahle & Totsiens, Nomaswazi Tinus Founder & Director African Mamas Crafts

Last month as we celebrated Women’s Month it was such a beautiful and powerful reminder that as women – mothers, sisters, daughters, wives – we have inherited a legacy.  One of standing together in support of each other against injustice and oppression.  This is true for all women, but especially so for us as South Africans as we remember the legacy of […]

Passing the baton to the next generation With the crafters we work with, beading is a skill that has been passed down from generation to generation.  For some it is a family tradition, whilst for others it is done in community groups for income and fellowship. Passing on the skill is an intricate process that requires […]

I can think of at least two separate occasions this past month where I consciously had to make the choice to move forward in the face of difficulty, remain where I was or to go backwards.  On both occasions, as I consciously thought about the choices before me – there was no doubt in my mind that […]

Keeping Momentum In his book, The 21 Irrefutable laws of leadership, John C. Maxwell says that momentum is a leaders best friend! And that many times it is the only thing that makes the difference between losing and winning.  He continues to say that “getting started is sometimes a struggle, but once you’re moving forward, […]

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 […]