About us

Sis’ Vee (pictured) and Sis’ Qoko have been designing clothing for over 40 years. They’ve worked with customers from across South Africa, and abroad, including well known South African personalities. In the last 20 years their attention and passion have been directed towards traditional clothing and rural development. They are actively involved in the business, oversee product design, development and training, and work closely with customers to create unique custom-made pieces. [Sis’ Qoko refuses to have any photos taken of her. We are still working on it…]

By the year 2000, Sakhisintu SA Traditional Scenario was working with organisations and individuals to create custom-made traditional clothing as well as traditional arts and crafts. Through this work, we met and worked with cultural groups across South Africa. We encountered rich cultural context. We also encountered something that resonated closely with our own personal background, that the opportunities for advancement available to rural communities (women in particular) had, and continue to have, much room for improvement.

In 2004, Sakhisintu formally established the NPO Sithembene Women Development Enterprise. Pictured below is the first group we established and trained in 1999. Sithembene has enjoyed the support of several national and international government agencies, and has trained over 300 individuals as seamstresses, and in the manufacture of arts and crafts. There have been many stops and starts; even now, we are rebuilding after many setbacks. Development is as challenging as it is rewarding - it requires many inputs, endlessly, but the most important is the will to continue.