ShweShwe - As African as it gets, locally sourced and produced...

I am a big fan of finding local products, whether its food that is locally sourced or any artefacts that are locally made. It always gives me joy when I am able to contribute back to the community by supporting and buying local.

So in my quest to find something truly local and authentic, which screamed Africa and did not have the stamp "Made in China" I stumbled upon the collection of beautiful and practical gift items made from traditional 3 Cats Shwe Shwe by Shwe.co.za

Shwe.co.za is a South African social enterprise which focusses on working with various community projects and NGO's in parts of Johannesburg so that they can help to uplift the livelihood of these communities and make a real difference. They have a lovely little workshop in Victoria Yards where you can see women sewing beautiful bags, gift items from various ShweShwe fabrics.

What is ShweShwe ?

To give you a brief history, ShweShwe, also known as, shoeshoe or isishweshwe is a printed cotton fabric that is manufactured in South Africa. Originally the name shweshwe meant an indigo-dyed discharge printed fabric. It is a trademarked fabric and it is printed on cotton, which is grown locally, in the Eastern Cape.

Why buy from Shwe.co.za?

If you are looking to gift your loved ones high quality gifts and accessories but at the same time would love it to be authentic, African, local and also reasonably priced then Shwe.co.za is the perfect place for you to shop.

Shwe.co.za not only helps create jobs and uplift the local communities, it is also a very eco-friendly project: The foundation and lining of all of their items are made from up-cycled billboards, tents and even off-cuts from car seat covers! Some of their trims have also been reclaimed from old bags and other goodies - Now how cool is that!

Isn't this a great way to shop local and support and uplift the communities who participate in creating these beautiful gifts and at the same time preserve their beautiful tradition.