“I Learnt From My Mother”: SA Woman Turns Family Skills Into Growing KwaMashu Craft Business

• Zanele Nzimande, 36, built Asemahle Crafters in Durban on a handcrafting skill passed down through three generations of women in her family
• The business, formally registered in 2025, grew from a family tradition Nzimande began learning as a child in 2003
• Despite never receiving outside funding, Asemahle Crafters now employs four permanent team members and supplies retailers across KwaZulu-Natal

Zanele Nzimande grew up watching her mother and grandmother weave and craft by hand. Today, she has turned those inherited skills into a business that is creating jobs and keeping African cultural traditions alive in KwaMashu, Durban.

Nzimande is the founder of Asemahle Crafters, a business that produces cultural bowls, lampshades, wine holders, sugar bowls, placemats and decorative glass covers. She formally registered it in 2025 after completing a training course at Ditsong Museums in Pretoria, where facilitators encouraged her to formalise what her family had been doing for decades.

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"I learnt the skill from my mother, who learnt the skill from her mother, my grandmother. I started learning the skill in 2003," she said.

Before stepping fully into the craft, Nzimande supported the family business through deliveries and general tasks. Over time, she built the confidence to create her own pieces and develop her own customer base.

She turns a home workshop into a growing enterprise

Asemahle Crafters now operates from a workspace at Nzimande's home and has four permanent team members. When large orders come in, she brings in additional crafters to keep up with demand.

The closure of the African Arts Centre in Durban, which was previously one of the business's key retail outlets, pushed Nzimande to find new markets. Asemahle now supplies independent retailers across KwaZulu-Natal and takes orders through WhatsApp and word of mouth.

"Word of mouth goes a long way. We are not at the level we would like to be, but we are making steady progress," she said.

Quality remains the business's defining value. Nzimande said

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"Our biggest selling point is that we prioritise quality."

View the X post below:

SA reacts to the business

@BrendaNY46 responded to the South African Government's page with support:

"Keep up the good work and family tradition. Your piece looks great and neat ❤️🙏🏾"

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Source: Briefly News