I grew up on a Karoo farm, where my mother’s passion for empowering women and love for textiles came together as a beautiful story. . . best told by herself:

“As a young public prosecutor I was aware of the pleit of women and the effect crime and poverty had on them, the one follows the other… I wanted to give them a voice, in order to achieve that I had to give them work. With an income they would be empowered.

My husband, a Karoo farmer, gifted me with a flock of Angora goats, with my love for textiles I had a vision. The department of labor shared my vision and became a trusted partner in our training center, where we trained every well, able woman to weave. Waltrandt Dietloof, a German master weaver, spent many months teaching and training these women. Aurora retailer was born. We worked in a shed close to the kitchen door on our farm, hot meals were served daily to our weavers and our 4 little girls. . . It was just a extension of home. One mother training and empowering other mothers.

We made carpets from the 7 natural colours of the Karakoel sheep, employing and creating work for over 60 women. Soon we expanded into making blankets from the Angora first clip of hair. By now our product was ready for the export market. Lochcurran of Scotland became our biggest client, we wove all their traditional Scottish checks, so loved for generations. When Lady Diana passed they were licensed to weave The Lady Diana tartan and we weaved the mohair version, still a top seller today. It is an age old tradition and nothing has changed in the way you weave, warp and weft. With mohair you gain nothing by speed, the process is slow, the product pass through generations as heirlooms. Most of all in a country where poverty is rife, it creates work for primarily women and empowers the women who raises our children” – Rene.

Needless to say, these same values were imposed onto me at a very young age and reinforced throughout my life. Today, living in Namibia with my husband and three daughters, I can Identify the same challenges for women as my mother did many years ago. I want to continue the legacy they have built in empowering women through job creation and hope my fathers knowledge and flawless weaving skills continue into thee next generation.