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Hlomelikusasa

Located in South Africa - Founded in 1994 - IDEX partner since 2005

A member of Hlomelikususa’s Mpola Garden project talks about her practice of sustainable agriculture.

Hlomelikusasa (“Skills for the Future” in Zulu) provides economic development and capacity-building training for 400 women in 13 communities of rural KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Provinces in South Africa. Activities assist impoverished women who are heads of households to overcome the twin challenges of crippling poverty and the high rate of HIV/AIDS (affecting over 40% of women in these provinces).

Hlomelikususa assists impoverished women who are heads of households to overcome the twin challenges of crippling poverty and the high rate of HIV/AIDS.

Core activities include training for 19 groups on income-generation projects with an emphasis on small businesses (such as gardening, a commercial brush-ware project, sewing and crafts). These projects allow women to care for their own children and orphaned children of relatives and neighbors.

Hlomelikusasa also promotes AIDS testing (stigma prevents many women from getting tested in the first place) as well as workshops on treatment, nutrition and wellness. Additional ‘know-your-rights’ workshops – in light of the recent post-Apartheid constitution—educates women about access to health care, inheritance, property, custody and other family law issues.