This Heritage Month, Mama Mary Lwate from Winterveld in Gauteng reflects on how heritage can become an economic opportunity. Drawing on her own experience, Mama Mary shares her tips for women and youth to embrace their heritage while using traditional skills to create a business.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been practising beadwork for over twenty years. I initially taught myself, but have learned from others too, over the years,\u201d says Lwate.<\/p>\n
She believes beadwork is an important traditional South African skill that needs to be preserved and recognised as part of our culture. Importantly, Mama Mary says that passing this skill on to others can also leave a legacy for future generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis skill is important to me personally because I generate an income from it, and I share this skill with my community so they can also generate income and support their families,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recognised the opportunity to turn my heritage activity into a source of income when others started to comment on my work and appreciate my finished products. I turned it into a business by selling at flea markets and at our Centre.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMama Mary is a beautiful example of Clover Mama Afrika\u2019s motto: I learn, I earn, I teach. She has embraced a traditional skill and turned it into an income-generating opportunity, which she now shares with others,\u201d explains Rika Haasbroek, Clover Manager: Corporate Social Investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what being a Clover Mama Afrika is all about. Mama Mary has been with us since 2008 and is a shining example of our ethos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lwate acknowledges that she has faced challenges along the way, but says perseverance has paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenges I faced when I started included making lots of mistakes and not having enough capital. I learned that in business, it takes time to get customers and keep them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Clover Mama Afrika project has empowered me personally and helped me develop many skills that I can also pass on to others, especially my community, children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Meeting other Mamas has also helped me learn from them and socialise, meet new people and open doors to other ideas and opportunities,\u201d concludes Lwate.<\/p>\n
Today, Mama Mary teaches beadwork to women and youth in her own community and beyond. While she shares her skills and encourages young people to learn, she says she has also learned a great deal from them. \u201cMy business has been going well and growing. There is a demand at craft shops. The youth of today advise me on what to add to my products to modernise my beadwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mama Mary’s top tips for turning traditional skills into business opportunities:<\/strong><\/p>\n Mama Mary selling her beadwork at a flea market<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This Heritage Month, Mama Mary Lwate from Winterveld in Gauteng reflects on how heritage can<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\n\n