Chronicle Editor
Hazel Marimbiza
FOR women coming from impoverished backgrounds, being financially independent is an aspiration and starting their own business is a fantasy only to be dreamt about. The story is however, different for some young women from Bulawayo who are now entrepreneurs after being assisted by a local company.
The women can now earn a livelihood to support their families and discover the power of their own voice and ideas. Eden Spring, a social business venture, is trying to put power in the hands of orphans and young single mothers by helping them build sustainable and scalable business models aimed at holistic development and economic upliftment from the bottom of the income pyramid.
The founder of Eden Spring, Ms Tafadzwa Gumede has taken it upon herself to train and employ women from disadvantaged backgrounds, in clothing manufacturing.
“I see so many young, uneducated girls in my community. After a while, they become adults and are married. They do not know how to think beyond this. So I want to train them to be quality-oriented, well-rounded individuals in the garment-manufacturing industry by providing an environment that helps them see their visions through and reach their full potential,” said Ms Gumede.
Most women experience hardships and obstacles throughout their lives but continue to be key agents in the reconstruction of their communities and society. Skill development programmes can give direction to the less -privileged women and make them self-sustainable, empowered and financially independent.
Ms Gumede has set up a stitching centre in Belmont, Bulawayo which is run by local women who are not just employees there but decision-makers and entrepreneurs in their own right.
The first stitching class started in March 2020, with a group of 17 women aged between 18-22. Today, these women are equipped with basic stitching skills, which they can use at home, and also carry with them if they move elsewhere after they get married.
“For those who are willing to take the initiative, we support and guide them in upskilling themselves and for those who are willing to go even further, we help them graduate into entrepreneurs,” said Ms Gumede.
The centre teaches the young women various sewing techniques. Women learn how to cut clothing patterns to create garments. The skill development training also gives these women the chance to take on stitching orders which come to them both personally and through the centre they work in.
The women start with small orders and slowly climb to a larger business model. At first, it can be just orders for blouses, petticoats and minor repair work. But as their work starts to speak for itself, a range of orders starts to pour in — from skirts, suits and pants to lifestyle items like bags, and even institutional orders such as school uniforms.
The income of these women depends on the number of orders they receive and complete on a monthly basis as well as a pre-decided wage that the women collectively discuss and agree upon, depending on how big or complex the order is.
Eden Spring’s skill development programmes have proved to be a big boon for the young disadvantaged women. Women from lower-income households rarely have much disposable income and very few get the chance to work outside their home in a respectable space such as retail.
From being almost faceless entities in their homes and communities, these women are today well on a path to becoming self-sufficient individuals in their own right as they are not only earning an income for themselves, but also contributing to their family income in the process.
Ms Sibongile Ndlovu, who is an orphan said learning to sew has greatly benefited her. “My relatives wanted me to get married right after completing O-level, but luckily I got the opportunity to sew and my life has direction. I can now provide for myself and send my siblings to school. When I was young, I never thought that I would come this far,” said Ms Ndlovu.
She said what she is doing does not only empower her and provide a source of income but is also providing something more crucial — self-esteem and confidence.
The confidence many women get from Eden Spring to have their own business ventures has pushed them into the path of being independent. The women have found their “voice” and are much more confident to speak about their lives, their wants and needs publicly.
The stitching centre also serves as a support system — a place where the women look forward to going every morning and meeting their peers and friends.
Moreover, the young women have grown so much, they are in a position to invest in stitching equipment, and upskill themselves over time — thus bringing in an element of sustainability.
Eden Spring continues to support the women in the areas of business development and commercial transactions, but the objective is to progressively involve them in these areas as well.
Though the young women might not yet be ‘‘big’’ in the conventional sense of the term, they have made significant strides and are poised to grow further as they go along.
Ms Gumede said she often encourages them to constantly develop their expertise so that they can be wholly independent.
“I tell the new women coming to learn at our stitching centre to sew in a way that can help them earn money and succeed in life. We should not be dependent on anyone. We should not constantly ask for money from anyone,” said Ms Gumede.
Her plans are to develop this programme and churn out even more women entrepreneurs.
“Over time, we have plans to train more women and open many more stitching centres in different parts of the country as part of our contribution in developing the less-privileged women in Zimbabwe. These centres will create more opportunities for women,” said Ms Gumede.
She said she was planning to engage life coaches as well as personal development trainers during the course of the programme to help empower and set achievable goals for the trainees during and after their programme completion.
This is important because it improves the socio-economic development of the nation as a whole.
“We also envision going on factory tours, market tours as well as trade fairs and fashion shows both nationally and internationally to help trainees get a broad perspective of what the industry entails. The main objective of this activity is to promote networking opportunities and aid trainees to secure jobs and enhance the skills they would have learnt during the programme,” said Ms Gumede.
She added: “We also want to focus on adding African inspired prints and fabrics to our designs as it ties into the ‘Bantu Bougie’ concept of our curriculum which is to combine culture and style. We have African development at heart and we see ourselves playing a vital part in this regard.”
She said doing this will help them create a sustainable and streamlined source of orders which will generate the necessary funds to further help Eden Spring expand operations. The move will boost the impact while encouraging consumers to purchase products made by Zimbabwean women. — @HazelMarimbiza
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