Shwe Shwe Poppis dolls are living stories of hope from the land of South Africa.
These charming and imaginative fantasy figure dolls are based on a series of original children’s drawings produced by the kids at the African Children’s Feeding Scheme’s Malnutrition and Rehabilitation Creche in Zola, Soweto. Lovingly hand-sewn by women from the community and inspired by stories from South African culture, these quirky, unique and sought-after creations are providing employment, education funding and a sense of pride and purpose for this Soweto community.
The Shwe Shwe Poppis project has a vision of spreading joy to all corners of the globe with their amazing plush dolls.
The name Shwe Shwe Poppis originated from our ethos of celebrating local culture – Shwe Shwe is a geometrically patterned fabric, manufactured by Da Gama Textiles. In South Africa these fabrics are culturally greatly valued enjoying a long tradition, while a Poppi is a colloquial term for a doll.
The incredible initiative has already become a world-renowned brand that showcases the best in South African Design, whilst helping to alleviate poverty, uplifting our community and promoting self esteem and confidence.
The African Children’s Community Education and Feeding Scheme (ACFS) was founded in 1945 by the legendary vicar Trevor Huddleston, and today distributes much-needed food to 32 000 children at 13 different centres in the Johannesburg townships daily!
In 2003, the ACFS approached Norwegian-based craft distributor Isandi to assist with market access for the work being produced by some of the informal craft groups affiliated to the ACFS, in a bid to create income-generating opportunities and thereby lessen community dependence on food parcels.
Various products and projects were attempted, until the idea to develop a range of plush dolls based on the naive, heartfelt and utterly enchanting drawings being produced by the children of the Zola Crèche in Soweto was conceived ……and so the Shwe-Shwe Poppis™ were born!
From humble beginnings in 2006, their production group has grown to 15 people – grandmothers, young mothers, even some men!
Today their proudly South African Poppis are exported around the world, have appeared on CNN, South African TV & newspapers and graced the pages of international publications like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Cote’ Sud and others.
In November 2006, the Shwe-Shwe Poppis Trust was established, with the primary aim of ensuring that the main profits from this exciting venture stay where it started, with the children, and to this end, a percentage of all profits go back towards their education.
In 2009 their project was bolstered by a donation from the ComMark Trust to make it possible for them to purchase their very own house in Soweto.
For the company owners, the reward is to have witnessed the growth of people, to have observed their strengths when opportunity presents itself, to continue to feel excited by their accomplishments and determination to succeed.
But for the outside, it seems that the real key to success, the beauty of the project, lies in its simplicity, its innocence, its sense of imaginative fun.
From it’s origins to end product, and aside from the job creation aspect, at its core this project is a gift from one child to another.
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