Sewing Café offers machines and empowerment

A new sewing centre in Masiphumelele is giving women more than just machines – it's giving them a place to build dreams, businesses, and brighter futures.

- ERIN CARELSE

The Sewing Café, a skills development non-profit, has just launched a professionally equipped, pay-as-you-go sewing hub in the heart of Masiphumelele.

The idea is simple: graduates and creators can now rent industrial sewing machines by the hour, day, or month, removing one of the biggest barriers to starting a small clothing business.

Founder and director Athene Knemeyer, who expanded the original training programme in 2013, says this next step is about real opportunity:

"A lot of our graduates don’t have reliable machines or safe spaces to work at home. This centre solves both problems and offers a vital bridge between training and entrepreneurship."