On a mission to help more young people get employed and become their own bosses in the fashion industry is a creative non-profit that turns libraries in the Western Cape into hubs of hope thanks to their free workshops!
Western Cape, South Africa (08 April 2024) — Sewing hope into the lives of communities across the Western Cape are two powerhouses based in Mitchell’s Plain and an organisation designed around creating impact! With libraries acting as their travelling creative workshops, they’re bringing more young people into the know-how of the clothing industry, one thread at a time.
Elana Pekeur and Taryn Mentor are the hearts behind the Pe’tor Creatives Youth Development (PCYD) — a non-profit company that hopes to provide authentic education within the clothing industry.
Their story begins with humble pilot pattern-making workshop in the December of 2021. Then, it became clear that the youth needed more spaces and guidance to curate the necessary skills to become self-employed or employable, and it wasn’t long until one workshop became many, many more.
PCYD’s goal is to equip students with the skills needed to produce their owns goods, and eventually, become sustainable entrepreneurs. For Elana and Taryn, serving as many communities as possible is essential to making their teachings accessible. And so, the idea of transforming library spaces into creative workshops became a big hit!
“We take on 10 to 12 new participants monthly at each library and this excludes those that wish to continue with us,’ Elana and Taryn share.
Weekly, their workshops can be found at Rocklands Library on a Monday, Lentegeur on a Tuesday, Parow on a Wednesday and Westridge on a Thursday.
For May, they will be between Parow and Strandfontein.
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Here, students are taught a variety of crafts, from making dolls and pompoms to bows and tote bags as beginners. Then, they move on to underwear, tops, pillows and more.
PCYD has also hosted fashion shows to raise funds for the sewing equipment, where students could also get their chance to see their designs on the runway. In late 2023, some students’ designs were even sold, and many of them received production requests!
PCYD’s short-term goals include increasing those enrolling in the workshops (there is a small R60 contribution fee). The ultimate goal is to ensure that those completing the course can become employed or start their own businesses. In a world where creative employment (and employment across the board) continues to exist as one of the biggest socio-economic challenges, missions like this matter!
You can find out more about them here.
Sources: GTG Interview
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