The magic combination of sewing and then filling a need has no borders or boundaries. During the Nancy's Corner segment I've interviewed many groups and individuals who share their love of sewing to help others. Halfway around the world in South Africa the skill of sewing shweshwe poppis-- "poppis" is the African term for dolls-- benefits both children and the doll makers. Elizabeth Schell, with Marula Imports is involved with the project and joins us on Skype. Welcome back to Sewing with Nancy, Elizabeth. Hi, Nancy, thanks so much for having me. I'm very excited to tell you and your viewers about some really fun and delightful imaginative fantasy figures called shweshwe poppis. Now, poppis, they're cute little dolls. They're adorable. But why don't you give a little history behind them? Sure, shweshwe is 100% cotton fabric that I import from South Africa. As you mentioned, the word "poppi" is a South African word for "doll." The dolls are based on drawings of children who attend a malnutrition and rehabilitation preschool in a town called Zola, Soweto. The children put crayon to paper and they produce these enchanting drawings. The men and women from the community stitch life into the drawings by creating the dolls in the likeness of the drawings using the shweshwe fabrics.
Nancy
These dolls, the sale of these dolls have a benefit to the people of South Africa. Tell our viewers about that. The shweshwe poppis initiative was born out of the idea to create income-generating opportunities to lessen the community's dependence on food parcels. There's an organization called the African Children Feeding Scheme. They already provide much needed food to 32,000 children around the Johannesburg area. So the sale generated from the shweshwe poppis alleviate some of this need. The income goes directly toward feeding and educating children in the community. Let's let our viewers see some of these great dolls. Here, I have Faith. They're all named, cute little designs. Then we have, in my chair where you normally would sit if you were on our set we have four poppis sitting there just smiling at me. They all are designed from children's drawings using the shweshwe fabric. They're really charming.
Elizabeth
They're all very unique. They're a little quirky. Best of all, they're untainted by adult perspective. Right, they're quirky. And you just want to smile when you look at them. It's amazing to think that the sale of these helps feed lots of people, little children. That's right, yes Nancy.
Nancy
The fabric is shweshwe fabric and it's available in the United States as well as in, of course, South Africa. But the creating of the dolls means a lot to children as well as to the people who sew them. That's correct. Right now, there's a group of 15 women and one man involved in the creation of the dolls. They range in ages from 19 to 69. They're all from the local Soweto community. They were previously unemployed so this shweshwe poppis initiative is offering them so many benefits. Most importantly, it's sustainable employment educational opportunities, and then a real sense of pride and purpose for the people involved in creating the dolls. You know, no matter where people are sewing whether it's in South Africa, the United States Japan, or wherever across the world I think what you are telling us that's exactly what it brings, encouragement. It sustains people. The gift is in the giving. That's what you've been doing through your fabric.
Elizabeth
That's correct. Are there some other interesting thoughts you'd like to share with us about the dolls, the poppis? It's such an interesting term. Yes, well, you know, the shweshwe poppis initiative has done so much for the social upliftment for impoverished communities, but it's done other things. It had other benefits that were really unexpected. It's really helped build the self-confidence and self-esteem of the people involved. They're so excited about what they've accomplished so far. They're really excited about the potential for the future for what they could accomplish. All through sewing and some artwork by children and using your specialty fabric. What a great combination. Elizabeth, thank you for being with us and for sharing this great project and wonderful fabric. Thank you, Nancy. I'm very privileged to have joined you today. For more information on shweshwe poppis
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nancyzieman.com where you'll find everything relating Sewing with Nancy. The current 52 shows are available for you to watch online and all the Nancy's Corner guests are listed so are their topics plus you'll find more sewing and quilting information posted bi-weekly on my blog. A special thanks to Eileen Roche for joining us for "Designer Handbags" our two-part series on creating and stitching handbags with embroidery. Thank you for joining us. Bye for now.
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