KAROSS
LETSITELE, LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA
Artist Irma van Rooyen founded the Kaross initiative over 20 years ago with the help of five women from the surrounding farms. Sitting together on a “kaross”, a traditional African blanket, the women shared in the communal activity of embroidering, and there the seed was planted. Today, Kaross brings upliftment and supplementary income to over 1,000 local families.
The Kaross embroidery studio has been able to positively impact so many families through their system of allowing embroiderers to work from home.
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The studio marks patterns onto cloth, which the embroiderers then collect and take home with them, (sometimes from up to 25km away). They also collect coloured threads, and everything they need to create their beautiful embroidery art from their home.
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Returning to the studio for payment with the finished embroidered cloth.
This embroidered cloth is then turned into tablecloths, mats, cushions, and other beautiful home décor pieces. Each featuring the unique creative expression and personality of the embroiderer.
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What started as a local initiative to support women has now become a pillar of the community. Men and women alike are gaining personal fulfillment from embroidering at home, being able to fit this work around their everyday lives, children and long hours on the farm. With the reward of supplementary income to provide for their families.
