Lydia's House Project Overview

Each time a Lydia's House Stole is purchased you are contributing to the lives of over 100 workers and their families in South Africa.  Every part of the creation of these beautiful and unique works of art is done by skilled craft persons who, without this project, would not be able to maintain a decent and respectable living.  All of the embroidered work is hand-done, and it takes nearly a week to complete one stole.   The end results are nothing less than spectacular.

The name "Lydia's House" was inspired by Lydia the business women referred to in the Book of Acts 16:14-15, ...a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira who sold fine purple cloth.   Lydia offered both her hospitality and her wealth to the formation of the early Church.

Lydia's House items are designed and manufactured by the United Church of Christ South Africa (UCCSA) in collaboration with the Lerato La Bana Women and Children Nutrition Project of the Tumelong Organization.  These talented and highly skilled groups of women hand-embroiders create each stole to reflect the images of many of our favorite stories in the Bible.

The Lerato La Bana mothers produce a variety of hand-embroidered and beaded garments to support their children.   Once the women have completed the handwork, the stoles are then passed to the men of the Bokamoso Production Unit (who have suffered economically due to the lack of formal education and or the HIV/AIDS pandemic) for completion of the final assembly phase.