Embroidery for good

There are quite a few upliftment projects in South Africa where rural women create hand embroidered items that are generally their main source of income. The longest running such project that I know of is Kaross. Others are the EersteRivier Embroidery Project, Tambani and Barok. I’m sure there are more, but these give you a good idea of the type of embroidery these local embroidery projects produce.

But I came across an initiative recently that really impressed me with its forward-thinking attitude towards stitchcraft and job creation in South Africa, a company called Taunina. The women who work in the studio create one-off soft toys embellished with beautiful hand embroidery and appliqué that wing their way all over the globe once complete. The website does the needlewomen and their finished products way more justice than I can do here, so go to Taunina's website to see their gorgeous work. You won’t be disappointed.