The unemployment rate in South Africa is extremely high. According to official sources it increased to 26.4% in the first quarter of 2015 (Statistics South Africa). The lack of skills and the system of grants have created a dependency culture that has only deepened the gap between those who have and those who don’t. In May 2015, with little experience and using personal funds, I started a toy maki
ng workshop at a local Recreation Centre in Johannesburg hoping to create a space where (unemployed) women from different backgrounds could meet and learn a practical skill that could allow them to generate an extra income. During the workshop the participants have been learning to make toys with a unique technique, namely, amigurumi. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. Thus, making use of patterns which we have gathered and modified, and equipment and materials which the project supplies, we meet once a week to learn this craft. The practical art form of amigurumi has become highly popular especially amongst young people. This implies that the women are learning a valuable skill which they could later use for their own purposes, such as, making their own toys or teaching others to make them. Currently we rely on donations to supplement our sales so that some of our participants receive transport subsidies and income from the toys they produce. However, we want to take it a step further and become fully self-sustained. Already our first participants have become instructors and partners in this venture. This social enterprise, which we now call Little Pine Tree, will be the platform through which we promote our project and sell the toys we make at the workshop. In addition, we want to donate the toys that are made during the initial 4-week learning period, to an institution working with children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
