The Story Behind the Mapula Embroidery Project

“In the ‘throwaway’ place live the ‘throwaway’ people,” wrote a South African journalist in 1990, describing the Winterveld—a settlement where Black families were forcibly relocated during apartheid and left to survive without basic services. Homes were built from scrap materials. Clean water was scarce. Disease, hunger, and loss were part of daily life.

Amid these harsh conditions, the Sisters of Mercy opened a small community center, offering education and skills training to women who had been given very little but expected to endure everything. In 1991, a simple sewing project began. Most of the women had never embroidered before. What they did have was lived experience—and stories that needed to be told.

That project became Mapula.

Over time, the women of Mapula learned to draw, design, and stitch their own narratives—transforming thread and cloth into powerful works of art. In 2000, Mapula received South Africa’s highest craft honor, and its work has since been collected, exhibited, and celebrated around the world. The message was clear: embroidery is not a minor craft—it is high art.

The income from Mapula has helped women clothe, feed, and educate their children, stitching dignity and opportunity into everyday life. When the pandemic brought tourism to a halt, the project—and the families who depend on it—were once again at risk.

Each Mapula piece is hand-stitched by a woman artist over days or weeks, carrying her story, resilience, and hope in every stitch. By supporting the Mapula Embroidery Project, you are helping ensure these stories continue to be told—one needle, one thread, one life at a time.

• The Mapula range is embroidered on black, 100% Edenrose cotton fabric, made in South Africa.
• The embroidery thread is Elle Crochet no 5, made in South Africa (using imported acrylic raw materials)
• Washing instructions: Best is to hand-wash with wool-friendly detergent and hang in a shady place as the fabric can fade in the sun.
• Iron the product face-down on a towel with a steam iron. Don’t use a very hot iron as the embroidery thread is synthetic and can melt.
• All items are pre-shrunk but you are advised to follow the washing instructions on the Mapula tag carefully.

The story behind the Mapula Embroidery project.....
"In the 'throwaway' place live the 'throwaway' people", Sue Millard wrote in the Pretoria News in 1990. Her allusion to garbage was reinforced through the headline of her commentary, which described the Winterveld as "the festering disgrace on Pretoria's doorstep." Although a harsh journalistic description, her words encapsulated the tragic displacement of black South Africans when they were forcibly removed from Pretoria and disposed in the Winterveld by the apartheid government of South Africa. A region that combines qualities of the urban and rural, the Winterveld held a mere 464 homes in 1950, exploding to 19,433 by 1976. Living conditions were dire. Many tenants occupied homes made from corrugated iron, mud bricks or packing cases obtained from factories, with no electricity or sewage and refuse removal services. Cholera outbreaks were severe, waterborne disease and malnutrition were common, and infant mortality was about 10%, but some have estimated there were times it reached as high as 50%. Post-apartheid revealed that 80% of Winterveld residents were unemployed, however some improvements in water were installed,  but most residents remained without electricity. Government clinics often lack medication so many reached out for help at the clinic set up by the Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters of Mercy established a facility for specific educational needs for the community. Classes and training began for secretarial school, cabinet making, welding, bricklaying, computer technology, and sewing classes. In the late 1980's, the Sisters of Mercy began to receive assistance from the Pretoria branch of Soroptomists International, an organization of women in professions and management whose aim is to protect human rights, encourage the social and economic development of communities and advance the status of females. The committee of Soroptomists met and decided to visit and initiate a sewing venture in Winterveld on April 20, 1991. Of the 10 to 20 who were reported to have attended, most were curious, not committed. Midway through 1994, the Mapula project included 50 participants and only some had any knowledge of embroidery when the project started out. By 2000, all drawing, design, and embroidery was now handled by the members of the community with Soroptomists aiding in sales, marketing, and administrative work. Mapula won the Gold Award at the prestigious FNB Vita Craft Now Millennium Awards Exhibition in 2000, and members have won accolades in their individual capacities as well. Purchased by the first lady of South Africa & published in more than 12 art publications, Mapula has conveyed a message - embroidery is no minor craft, it is high art. Income generated through the Mapula project has assisted women over the years to clothe, feed & educate their children. The pandemic has devastated the project & families that rely on its income, as tourism has stopped. Due to the dire circumstances, we were approached on behalf of the project and imported an array of placemats, cushion covers, embroidered blocks, and wall hangings. Each piece is one of a kind, each lovingly hand stitched by a woman artist for 7 days to 7 weeks. We hope you join us, with needle and thread, in support of the Mapula Embroidery Project.