Namibia: African Monarch Lodges - The Sijwa Project update

The sewing workshop was never part of the original vision for The Sijwa Project.  With so much time on everyone’s hands as African Monarch Lodges came to a complete standstill when the COVID-19 Pandemic hit the world in March 2020, we thought it would be time well spent sewing uniquely designed bathrobes as an essential offering to our esteemed guests staying in our Nambwa suites.  All it required was a sewing machine and some fabric, or so we thought. Sadly none of our staff or management could sew. This drove us to find a way to make this dream of special hand made bathrobes a reality.

Two years later with the successful training of 8 women from our local community, we have the most gorgeous bathrobes.  Hand made with love.

Our tented suites emanate a feeling of vastness and evoke a gentle balance of serenity.  It is therefore only fitting that we showcase the talent of our artisans from The Sijwa Project by offering our guests a linen bathrobe in the allure of Africa's most exotic hue of yellow and green.

During Isabel de Villiers' first visit to The Sijwa Project, we asked her if she could make our dream a reality by designing the bathrobe which sparked the start of one of the best facets of The Sijwa Project.

We were approached by Switzerland’s Africa Design Travel to create 500 branded information bags for their esteemed clients traveling to Africa.

Our proud team of ladies from the sewing workshop at The Sijwa Project could not believe that their handy work will be flying across the ocean and will be adorned by guests traveling to Africa from Switzerland.

We thank John Stewardson and Petra Buller for this beautiful collaboration and their support to uplift and develop the craftsmanship of our community women. A wearable art collection for all shapes and sizes, inspired by all the talented artists that surround her daily. From everyday objects to investment pieces.

She created 4 sizes inclusive of season-less staples that feature hand embroidery panels made by the talented Sijwa Project. Each panel is unique and part of a limited edition collaboration.

Isabel shines a light on the talent and passion of each woman who forms part of The Sijwa Project. It's a privilege to collaborate with her again.

African Monarch Lodges, P. O. Box 5072, Windhoek, Namibia

www.traveltonamibia.com
YouTube: Exploring Namibia TV

Purchase photo/4K video: portfolio1 portfolio2
Aerial photo/video service/inquiries: info@traveltonamibia.com

Telegram: ExploringNamibia

Namibia: Sustainable Fashion Manufactured in Zambezi Region

Sustainable Fashion Manufactured in the remote Zambezi Region of Namibia

The Sijwa Project has a broad vision of empowering the local community by creating jobs, preserving traditional knowledge, teaching skills and conserving the surrounding environment through a variety of recycling and innovative activities.

The sewing workshop was never part of the original plan for The Sijwa Project. Covid-19 brought about the vision to include a sewing workshop. After various discussions and donations, it came to be.

Initially, the ladies were taught basic sewing skills and started by manufacturing shopping bags. This grew and today we can present to you a range of clothing, by different designers, Namibian and South African, made with love at The Sijwa Project.

Chanique Rabe, Miss Supranational 2021, designed The Sijwa Dress exclusively for The Sijwa Project in April 2021. The Sijwa Dress is a Red, easy-to-wear, linen-blend dungaree style dress. She taught the senior seamsters step-by-step how to make the dress and gave in-depth training on dressmaking.

Once completed, the ladies modeled the finished garment with absolute pride. The Sijwa seamsters then made their own dresses to wear as uniform in a bright happy yellow, using the design of The Sijwa Dress.

THE SIJWA PROJECT NOW DOES EMBROIDERY

When we started the Sewing Workshop at The Sijwa Project, embroidery was not a skill that crossed our minds.

Isabel de Villiers with a passion to share her skills and empower these women further, decided she would teach them embroidery to add to their repertoire.

The ladies were taught the different colour combinations and then taken through basic embroidery stitches.

Isabel skillfully coaxed each lady to tap into their inner artist and lovingly harness endless possibilities and creative styles.

Embroidering their own butterfly using the stitches they learnt and inspired by the colours of nature around them, they composed a little song about the butterfly which brought tears to Isabel’s eyes.

They then layered threads and colours on top of each other to create three dimensional art work.

Their hand embroidered butterflies are showcased on their Kimono Jackets making each one unique. One can see the girl’s personalities pop through each stitch length and colour combinations.

Each being one of a kind and unique.

"Designing something of value and with meaning is important in today's world filled with stuff. We should all get dressed with intention.

I grabbed the opportunity to conceptualize and design the ‘Dusty Men's Tunic’ for African Monarch Lodges. The Tunic is a combination of the project's success, local empowerment and integrity of design inspired by this piece of paradise in the Zambezi Region of Namibia.

The pattern and first sample was developed at The Sijwa Project, quite unexpectedly. We first drafted the pattern and made a rough first sample on the machines. Then we fitted the sample on various staff and team members and adjusted the fit according to their feedback.

The result, a timeless Tunic Top you will love wearing for years to come. These tunics are made from Linen fabric and have a simplistic and modern feel to them. They are made with love at the hands of the talented woman of The Sewing Workshop at The Sijwa project." Isabel de Villiers, owner and fashion designer of Isabel de Villiers Clothing.

All these exquisite dresses and our tunic is made with love at The Sijwa Project and are available at the curio shop of Nambwa Tented Lodge.

THE SIJWA PROJECT AT SA FASHION WEEK!

We present to you the garments designed and created by Isabel de Villiers, embroidered with love by the Sijwa seamsters, and launched on the runway of SA Fashion Week hosted at the Mall of Africa in Johannesburg on April 30th, 2022!

"Collaborating with The Sijwa Project gave the decade celebration collection a deeper meaning of teamwork and shared passion. Seeing the end results of the hand embroidery pieces on the runway gave me goosebumps and tears. I am so proud of all the hard work and talent they put into each piece - they are collector's items, true artworks", Isabel de Villiers, fashion designer and owner of Isabel de Villiers Clothing.

Indeed a proud moment for The Sijwa Project and African Monarch Lodges.  Dusty and Tinolla attended the event and their hearts filled with absolute pride and gratitude. Gratitude to Isabel de Villiers and Nikita Rix-Venter for their unwavering support and our beautiful collaboration.

African Monarch Lodges, P.O. Box 5072, Windhoek, Namibia.

www.traveltonamibia.com
YouTube: Exploring Namibia TV

Purchase photo/4K video: portfolio1 portfolio2
Aerial photo/video service/inquiries: info@traveltonamibia.com

Telegram: ExploringNamibia

Sijwa Project by African Monarch Lodges

#SijwaProject #AfricanMonarchLodges #Nambwa #KazileIslandLodge #KwandoRiver #Namibia #Botswana #ChiefMayuni #Bwabwata #KAZA #ZambeziRegion

Launch of THE SIJWA PROJECT BY AFRICAN MONARCH LODGES

What is The Sijwa Project?
It’s the re-purposing and re-inventing of all recyclable waste from the African Monarch Lodges; Nambwa Tented Lodge and Kazile Island Lodge, on the Kwando River of the Zambezi Region of Namibia, and from the local community, into exquisite saleable craft and art.

It’s also an organic permaculture nursery to supply food for local people and lodge guests (mitigating the air and road miles lodge food usually travels). The sandy soil is enhanced by composted food-waste and super-strength worm juice, given a boost by the occasional dollop of elephant dung!

It’s also a cultural village, artisanal skills training center, a beehive project, a free-range egg scheme and a junior ranger training venue. Plus, it’s an indigenous tree nursery for visitors to buy and plant a tree to offset their carbon footprint, looked after by a local ‘tree guardian’ to ensure a better chance of survival against nibbling goats.

The Chief Was Shocked!

Plastic recycling is a passion of Chief Mayuni after a conversation he once had with a tourist on a flight who made a negative remark that “plastic is a flower in Namibia, because it is everywhere” The Chief was shocked and as he drove back to the North he realised the truth of the statement and decided to put his mind to changing this in his sizable realm.

When Chief Mayuni learned of Tinolla and Dusty’s plans he released Sijwa - a traditional meeting place within his area in the Mayuni Conservancy of Bwabwata National Park, Zambezi, in the very heart of KAZA (Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area) - for this joint venture with the community. After listening carefully to all the presentations, he gave his personal blessing at a large gathering of dignitaries, international media and conservation role players on 17 November 2018 at Sijwa.

With a surplus of passion in everything they put their minds to, Tinolla and Dusty demonstrate a ‘go big or go home!’ kind of attitude and the Sijwa Project is no exception! They’ve just broken ground (literally and metaphorically) at Sijwa to upgrade some of the derelict buildings into workshops.

“This vision is bigger than us - we occupy a tiny space on this planet – but we know the Sijwa Project will make a real difference and demonstrate how people and wildlife can live sustainably together.”

www.traveltonamibia.com

YouTube: Exploring Namibia TV

Purchase photo/4K video: portfolio1 portfolio2

Aerial photo/video service/inquiries: info@traveltonamibia.com