This is the first of three posts about how S&S Mozambelleza came to be. Enjoy!
It’s very rare that I talk to people here that can see past the “right now”...and for good reason. Day-to-day survival is the main focus for many families: I imagine it would be very difficult for a person be able to think in the “big picture” or “long-term” if their basic needs are barely being met.
When I talk to people about what they want for themselves, it’s rare that I hear something besides the following: More money for my family; a reliable water source; rain so my crops can grow; a new roof so I don’t get wet inside when it rains; electricity; to work. These are all very important things. So important, in fact, that bigger, broader, long-term ideas such as higher education; a job that pays an hourly wage; to be a good role model for my children; seeing the world; to help my family and community avoid malaria; etc. are things that just simply don’t get mentioned. If asked, I’m sure everyone would say they would want everything on the list of things I just mentioned—but without the basics—food, water, shelter—ain’t nobody got time to worry about the other stuff.
Also, having big dreams when your situation is a slight step above hopeless is more depressing than it is inspiring. Having a dream where you can honestly tell yourself “if I work my ass off really hard for a long time, and some luck swings my way, I could do this” is very different than “there’s just absolutely no fucking way”. Right? So I understand why my neighbors and friends are hesitant to let themselves imagine a life that has more opportunities than what Manjacaze currently offers. Eschewing disappointment is human nature.
[Also, please note that these are my insights after having conversations about this with Manjacaze residents for just about a year, so take that for what it’s worth.]
Then, one day my roommate comes home with a very well-made capulana tunic, and I ask her who made it for her. And she tells me “that seamstress that has all the capulanas hanging up in the little loja (store) on the road that goes to the nun’s house”. (Addresses and/or business names aren’t too common in these parts.) So, I take a capulana to her—I need a dress for my grandpa’s celebration of life ceremony. I drop off my capulana and start chatting with her. I learned that her name is Stela. She tells me that she has three kids, and that her husband who is a primary school teacher. I learn that she is not from Manjacaze, but rather Maputo, the nation’s capital. I ask her which place she likes better, and she says:
“Well, I came here because my husband is from here. Most of my family is still there, and sometimes I think I left a lot of opportunities there in Maputo. But, love was stronger so I came here”.
While that’s a reasonable answer that probably wouldn’t invite many more questions in the States, here it’s different. When I heard that she had other ideas for her life, or perhaps even dreams, I wanted to hear more. It was unexpected and refreshing. So I asked, “what do you think you could do there that you can’t do here?”.
“I want to be a known seamstress. I want people from not just Manjacaze to know my work and wear my dresses. I want people from everywhere to feel beautiful in my dresses. If I’m going to be here and be a seamstress, I want to be the best seamstress. There’s not a lot to learn here in Manjacaze that will help me get better, but I want to get better”.
How’s that for a change of pace? I loved that answer. Although I know that money is tight— for example, her kids wear clothes with holes, and meat is a special treat because of the price, and she is a woman in Mozambique (typically have far less opportunities to thrive than men), and her brothers have asked her for money on more than one occasion that she’s had to decline—she will could see past the right now and hope for something bigger. That takes strength, and a sort of inner fire.
So I left feeling 1 part happy that I met a woman who wasn’t afraid to dream, and 1 part sad that her dreams may very well just stay dreams. Humph.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I cannot get Stela’s story out of my head. I wanted so badly to support her dreams somehow and keep her fire ablaze. I felt like we had that conversation for a reason and even though I tried to ignore it, it just kept coming back, saying “Sarah why not give it a go?”. As I thought through ideas, I realized it was going to be a lot of work…I’ve never really tried to sell anything in my life. I’m not creative. I can barely keep a personal budget, and we live a six-hour trip from the capital city (which is the only place that offers specific materials and services that a clothing business would need). Oh yeah, and we, like, don’t have money.
At first I was hesitant, but then the ideas just kept snowballing. I looked on Etsy for online shops that were currently selling African-inspired dresses. They were selling between $100 and $300. WHAT. Surely we could sell our dresses for less than $100USD and still ensure Stela earns a fair wage, right? I decided I believed in the idea enough to ask Stela what she thought. Here’s what I told her:
Me: “Stela, I was thinking about the goals you told me about, and I want to help. In the United States we have this website called Etsy, where anyone can go and sell pretty much anything they make. Mostly it’s for clothes, accessories, and art. But really it could be anything. I have the idea that we could try to sell your dresses in the States using Etsy.”
Stela: “What? Mana Sarah…what? Oh my gosh. I would love that. Are you serious?”
Me: “Well, I don’t know how successful we will be because I’ve never done anything like this before. Also, I know it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of work. We will have to work ahead of time and there’s a risk we might not make any money, even after working hard. But if you see big things for yourself, I want to help you get there. So I’m in if you are.”
Stela: “Nobody has ever believed in me enough to do something like this. I want to try, and I will give it my maximum.”
And there began our journey to creating S&S Mozambelleza.
“All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.”
—Walt Disney
Good morning, how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because through them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are very small countries with very few population, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this, I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Mozambique? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Mozambique in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally, I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez