New Equipment & Sewing Skills Boosts Job Prospects For Makhanda Women

Makhanda, Eastern Cape – 25 August 2025

Co-owners of the community sewing enterprise, Bill Kali Collective, Sabelo Bill and Tandile Kalipa, are building more than just a small business — they are opening doors for unemployed youth in Makhanda to gain practical skills, grow client bases, and even start their own enterprises.

Just one year after opening, the duo — supported administratively by Nosipiwo Dosi, who also works for the local office of NGO Inkululeko — look forward to being able to provide employment opportunities to community youth. This process has been fast-tracked by the provision of new sewing equipment, which will enable them to offer on-the-job training in essential skills for future careers in sewing, including cutting, pattern making, and garment construction.

Both Sabelo and Tandile hold formal qualifications in Fashion Design and Clothing Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. They lead the training sessions together, linking their business growth to a wider vision of creating employment opportunities within the community.

“This equipment has transformed what we can do,” said co-owner Tandile Kalipa. “It’s not only helping us grow our business, but it’s also giving us the tools to move young people from unemployment into real, income-generating work.”

The funding, received from NOA Group’s Wind Garden project, a new wind farm under construction in the area, enabled the purchase of the new sewing equipment. The Joza-based Assumption Development Centre facilitated the process as part of the wind farm’s socio-economic development programme.

Angela Harrison, Wind Garden’s Socio-Economic Development Manager, said the company hopes the equipment will boost training quality and support local job creation, “With the new equipment improving the training experience, and Sabelo and Tandile helping connect participants to real employment opportunities, we believe this initiative can create meaningful pathways out of unemployment and contribute to the the community’s socio-economic wellbeing.”

The Wind Garden wind energy facility is currently under construction in Makhanda with completion expected in the first half of 2026.