During her time in the Women’s Agricultural Union, she became adept at a number of crafts, learning from her fellow comrades and also teaching them.
Her time in the Union acted as a platform for knowledge and skills sharing between the women.
In 2010 she decided that she wanted to share her artistry with others, “There are a lot of young women in the local area, they think they know nothing, they believe they cannot work with their hands.” Under the auspices of the Dutch Reformed Church in Letsitele, she began a craft club, inviting women, and men, to join her in a number of crafts and to show them that they can be creative. At the beginning of the year, a schedule is sent out to interested parties which outlines the planned classes throughout the year.
Five classes are held per year and the focus on each ranges from making porcelain dolls or teddy bears, calligraphy, sugar art, flower arranging and screen printing to name but a few.
After carrying out a bead work class, one of the attendees, Maria Nyathi, started her own bead work business, creating jewellery for weddings and other events. Another woman began a sugar craft and cake decorating business after attending the Craft Club. Amanda Vorster is also well-known in the area for her writing skills, having completed two books.
Her first, titled ‘ ‘n dosyn jare, ‘n dosyn reise’ which came out in 2013 details her travels on twelve different safaris throughout Africa.
The number twelve is the theme of the book, going on to describe a dozen highlights, a dozen lowlights, as well as a dozen Biblical references that can be applied to modern day life and the experiences she faced on the safaris. In 2017, her second book, ‘Letsitele en sy mense – Verliede tot Hede’ was published.
Read: FOTOS: Amanda se ‘Letsitele en sy Mense’ bekendstelling in beeld
This was a bucket list project for Amanda and took eight years to complete. There certainly seems to be no end to her creative abilities.
