The organisers invited women to create a record of their stories and experiences through a technique called memory cloths, pieces of cloth slightly larger than an A-4 size sheet of paper decorated by participants with embroidery, appliqué, and beadwork to represent their life stories. According to the organisers, the exercise helped each participating woman to become a representative of all women.

During the earliest stages of the project, participants first resisted the idea of sharing their personal experiences and creating artworks based on their stories. They later realised the importance of this creative process in constructing individual and collective identities, restoring indigenous African creativity and repositioning their history.

The project aims to provide the women with opportunities to overcome traumas experienced during the apartheid era and also recover personal, cultural and political information. The gathering of women also served as an opportunity to teach about health-related issues as well as basic business skills (micro-enterprising, skills upgrading and product development).

The programme aims to acquire 5,000 stories and cloths to create a permanent exhibition and an educational programme in KwaZulu-Natal. Each individual cloth is displayed with a profile of the artist and her story. 

Women.

Established in 2000, Create Africa South (CAS) preserves and develops creativity in South Africa, dedicated to assist cultural discussions within Africa. CAS addresses the holistic creative interface of people with society.