South African Embroideries

This week I received this parcel from South Africa containing some wonderful embroideries by the Venda women who live in the north part of South Africa. The embroideries are sold through a company called Tambani Textiles and Gifts. I wrote about this organization and its founder, Ina le Roux, in some previous posts.

Each embroidery tells a story that is traditionally told by the story tellers in the area and is signed by the embroiderer. The women use the money to buy much needed supplies for their families. Each embroidery comes with a picture of the embroiderer and a little bit of information about her, along with the story of the embroidery.

The embroideries are fully washable, have been pre-shrunk and come in 2 sizes. I will be selling these embroideries at some shows I will be doing later in the Spring. Please e-mail me if you have any questions about them.

The Rejected Wife: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Salphina. She says "I built my house with my own hands. My husband does not come home anymore. But I know the Lord is my Shepherd.

The Dancing Elephant: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.
This piece was made by Ema. Ema has 5 children to feed. With the money from her first embroideries she bought some mugs and plates. She also built her own house by hand and decorated the outside.

A Hippo Swallowed a Girl: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Sani. She says that when her husband passed away in 2005, life became very difficult. She joined the embroidery group and now gets paid for her work. She says that as the only wage earner in her family, she places all her hope on her embroidery.

The Rejected Wife: 2.75" x 3.75" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Violet. She and her husband have 6 children and because work is very scarce, the money from embroidery helps her to buy essentials for her family.

Click here to read more about Tambani Textiles and Gifts