Multi-Award winner, Lindiwe Saka (67), went home with another accolade as she was honoured with the Best Small Holder Producing Award at the Women Empowerment Awards, hosted by the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) in Gqeberha, recently.
She is the Director of Abasuki Ternal Co-operatives at Mthalala Locality in Port St Johns. According to her, she was awarded a cheque for R80 000 in Gqeberha recently, following two cheques she also won from this department in June. She said she bought materials with the money she received from the awards she won in June.
Saka said she used to feel that her work was not noticed by anyone, even though she was playing a major role in equipping women and young people in different categories, including sewing.
“I started to notice my talent in sewing when I was still young. After I passed standard six, I could not further my studies because there was no money, and my mother was a widow. I then went to Gauteng, where I got a job at Fochville Hotel in Johannesburg. I worked there for three years; after that, I bought my sewing machine and started my sewing business.”
She added that after she sewed her first pinafore, she wore it, and that led her to get more women who asked her to sew for them. Saka said that is how she started her business. According to her, even when still at primary school, she used to do needlework.
“Sometimes I would dream of sewing something. When I woke up, I would then look for paper and cut it, or a sack. I would do exactly what I saw in my dream. No one taught me about doing beadwork; I used to see it in my dream, busy doing it. When I woke up, I would go to one of the community members to ask for beads and lagenaria siceraria (iselwa). I then made the beads that are worn on the chest. When I am doing these things, I make sure that I am following what I saw in my dream.”
Saka said that no one had taught her how to use the sewing machine. She confirmed that there are many people who have gained from her talent. According to her, she also owns the sewing school Nobuntu Designing Sewing School, where she has taught many people sewing. Saka said she started the school in 2013 and has a high number of people who have benefited so far.
Saka said she started by training 150 people in her locality, and those people are still sewing and have their own projects. “When I am done with training them, they become a group, and I register companies for them so that they can have their own co-operatives. I also assisted them by getting support for sewing school uniforms from South African Social Security Services (SASSA). I have trained a lot of people in different districts, including Flagstaff and Lusikisiki.”
She confirmed that before the COVID-19 pandemic, she used to have over 30 workers, but now she has fewer workers than before. She said she owns over 50 machines because they are doing many things in her workshop. Saka said that when she entered the awards competition held by DRDAR, she did not know she would win but was shocked when her name was announced. She added that even though she is well-known for her sewing, she still wants to reach more people.
