Township
Patterns
NGO
Nicole- Marie Interview and Township Pattern Overview
Why did you decided to speci?cally start with this
initiative Township Patterns
It was certainly not something I had planned to do: on a
holiday in SA, I was approached by a group of women from
Khayelitsha asking for a job. I listened to their wishes,
relocated to Cape Town and since then Township has grown
organically. You can say that they changed my life. As I
changed theirs too.
How did you decide who to partner with in this project?
Again no planning at the beginning: word of mouth, family
members, relatives... everybody joined in. Nowadays, we
tend to engage with groups which are already formed but
which are struggling because they lack on-going support
and a real connection with business opportunities
What do you hope to achieve?
Very early on, I had the vision that one day township®, the
brand, would be known as a leading South African brand for
fashion accessories. And because of that success, it would
be known as a change agent for the textile industry creating
sustainable jobs for HDIs in township communities.
I also envisioned that township® would be a communication
platform. It's an iconic name and therefore through social
Nicole-Marie Iresch with husband Christophe Labesse
CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW
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