Jobs for 250 Impoverished Families in Swaziland

For families in some of Eswatini’s most remote communities, poverty is not simply a lack of money. It is a lack of access: to markets, employment, skills, customers, and opportunities to turn what they have into an income. That is the gap our economic development work is designed to address. We have developed multiple ways of connecting vulnerable families and individuals in rural Lubombo to economic opportunities, recognising that there is no single pathway out of poverty. For some, it means creating a market for a resource they already have. For others, it means learning a skill, joining a production process, or gaining employment that can grow into greater responsibility.

Our crawfish initiative, for example, connects community members who fish crawfish with local restaurants and country clubs. By creating a reliable buyer, we are helping turn an existing local resource into an income-generating opportunity.

Our sewing ladies project has taken a different path. Although the project has not been fully active for some time, particularly following the closure of our Dvumisa Creative storefront at Mantenga Lifestyle Centre, the skills it created continue to have value. The sewn products can still be found at Livivane Guesthouse, while Happy, one of the women who participated in the project and our former storekeeper, continues to run her own sewing business. The skill she learned through the programme is now helping her generate an income for her family, demonstrating that impact can continue long after a project changes form.

Our Marula Oil production has also continued to grow. What began as a single product has developed into a full range of serums, body butters, and soaps. We purchase cracked Marula kernels from women in nearby communities, while caregivers from our Singumndeni programme participate in production. The range is now sold through outlets across Eswatini and through our online shop for supporters in the United States.

At Livivane Guesthouse, another of our income-generating initiatives, a woman who began with us in housekeeping was recently promoted to Assistant Guesthouse Manager. Her journey captures what economic empowerment can become over time and how opportunity leads to skills, experience, and a growing ability to support a family.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, this work is creating positive change across our communities. Our total fundraising goal for this project is $35,000, with $27,603 still needed to reach it. Every contribution helps us invest further in these initiatives, strengthen the opportunities already underway, and bring more vulnerable families into meaningful economic participation. There is still much work ahead, but with your support, small beginnings can continue to become sustainable opportunities, one skill, one resource, one family at a time.

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