HAREM

01/09/2026

Okay, so let me answer the question everyone keeps asking…

“How can we support you further?”

This Women’s Month has honestly been amazing, and thank you to all in our space, singing our praises and celebrating. It was dreamy....

A Changemaker award, Speaking opportunities, beautiful conversations, new rooms and people recognising the work we’ve been doing consistently for years.

I am deeply grateful.

But there’s something I’ve been thinking about.

Sometimes we celebrate women beautifully — and then we move on.

The event ends.
The photographs go up.
Everyone applauds.
And the women go back to figuring out how to fund the next month, pay the makers, move the stock, find customers and keep the dream alive.

So, how can you support us further?

Let me make it simple.

Share our stories.
If something resonates, share it.

Like and comment.
Engagement helps more people find us. And please, give us feedback. We genuinely welcome constructive criticism as much as we appreciate the positive.

Buy our work.
A garment is not just a garment. When you buy from a small purpose-driven business, you are helping keep a whole ecosystem moving.

Connect us.
Know someone who should know us? Make the introduction.

And keep showing up.

Not just during Women’s Month.

As we head towards the festive — or silly — season, I’m thinking less about celebration and more about action.

Because if you believe in the work, the most powerful thing you can do is help it continue.

Don't just celebrate the story.
Help write the next chapter.

Now THAT is support.

22/08/2026

15/08/2026

We asked our community to nominate the women they believe are creating change ✨

Meet Sindeka, Rayana and Lebone, three remarkable women making an impact in their communities. Our Poetry Changemakers this Women’s Month 🤍

Read their stories: https://shorturl.at/hdes2

Feeling incredibly humbled to be chosen by Poetry as a Change Maker for Women’s Month. 🤍
When I look back at the Sari for Change journey, I realise how many women have been part of it — the women who donated their saris, the women who make our garments, and the women who continue to believe in what we are building. The organizations that are validating our work and the partnerships we are forming.

This recognition feels like it belongs to all of us.
Woman by woman.
Story by story.
Sari by sari.
Thank you, Poetry, for seeing the journey. 🤍
Rayana Edwards | Sari for Change

09/08/2026

Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophie De Bruyn walking and leading the march of 1956. I think about how you were walking for women you would never meet. Women like us.

You did not know our names nor what our lives would look like, but you walked anyway.
And today, we are standing on the ground you helped create.

Historical accounts of the 1956 march describe Indian women arriving in their saris, alongside women wearing their everyday clothing and traditional dress and colours of their various organizations. Just imagine this scene...

Rahima Moosa wore a sari.
A testament to my belief that the sari has never just been a piece of cloth.
It holds the memory of women, of mothers and grandmothers.
Of celebrations, journeys, sacrifices and stories passed down through generations. Relics in motion

And today, through our work, those saris are carrying new stories.
They become something new in the hands of women who are learning, creating, earning and building their own futures.

Right now we honour the women who are quietly getting up every morning and trying again.
The woman raising children on her own or starting a business with very little. The woman sitting behind a sewing machine or the woman who has lost her confidence and is finding it again.
The woman who is supporting everybody else and sometimes forgets to support herself.

And I want to say to her:
We see you. Your story matters.

70 years later, we carry the story forward.

Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo.
You strike a woman, you strike a rock.

03/08/2026

I am honoured to be speaking at the University of Johannesburg alongside Dr. Hellena Pugh from the USA and facilitated by Prof. Shahana Rasool

"Women Changemakers Building Sustainable Economies through Entrepreneurship"

This conversation is about far more than entrepreneurship. It's about building businesses that create lasting value—for people, communities, culture, and the environment.

Through Sari for Change, we've learned that discarded heritage textiles can become a catalyst for women's economic empowerment, cultural preservation, and circular design.
Every garment tells a story of dignity, opportunity, and transformation.

I look forward to sharing our journey alongside inspiring fellow changemakers and engaging with students, academics, and entrepreneurs who are committed to building more sustainable economies.

Thank you to the University of Johannesburg for creating spaces where meaningful conversations can inspire meaningful action.

01/08/2026

Dabka and Nakshi embroidery is among the most labor-intensive forms of Indian hand embroidery.

The time depends on the density of the work, the skill of the artisan, and whether one or several embroiderers work on the piece.

A reasonable estimate for a garment:

Neckline: 8–15 hours
Sleeve borders (both): 10–20 hours
Hem border: 20–40 hours
Scattered motifs across the garment: 10–25 hours
That brings the total to approximately 50–100 hours of hand embroidery for a single garment.

For heavily embellished bridal couture, artisans can spend 200–500+ hours, with teams of embroiderers working together over several weeks or even months.

What makes Dabka and Nakshi so time-consuming is that each tiny metallic coil is:
Cut by hand.
Threaded individually onto a fine needle.
Couch-stitched onto the fabric one piece at a time.
Combined with sequins, beads, or silk thread to build texture and dimension.

This is why these textiles are so precious. They are not just fabric—they embody dozens of hours of skilled human craftsmanship.

31/07/2026

The word relic came to mind this week.

We were busy creating skirts over pants and merely touching a piece of sari cloth, brought this whirling image......

It once again reminded me that every garment we create is therefore more than circular fashion.

It is a relic in motion.

A living archive where memory travels, culture evolves, women earn with dignity, and the sacred finds new life through the hands of another maker.
We do not simply recycle cloth.

It becomes the politics of cloth.

It challenges the belief that value belongs only to what is new. It asks whose stories deserve to survive, whose labour is remembered, and what we choose to preserve. In a world built on consumption and forgetting, reclaiming a discarded textile becomes an act of resistance.

It is Sacred

Many saris have been worn during prayer, celebration and rites of passage. They have absorbed blessings, tears and generations of care. To transform them is not to erase their past, but to honour it by allowing their story to continue.

We carry memory forward, A relic in motion

20/07/2026

SPONSORED | A market access programme will equip 20 clothing SMEs with funding, mentorship and retail opportunities to grow sustainably

11/07/2026

Sari for Change ✨

For the past decade, the brand has been transforming donated saris into contemporary garments, preserving their heritage while giving them a new life. Every piece tells a story of tradition, craftsmanship and conscious design, celebrating the beauty of circular fashion.
Beyond creating timeless garments, Sari for Change empowers women through skills development and garment manufacturing, helping build livelihoods while championing a more sustainable and purpose-driven fashion industry.

📆 14 -16 July 2026
📍 CTICC2, Cape Town
🔗 Register: https://app.messereg.com/events/visitor/allfashion-sourcing-2026