The Rare Bear Project creates a self-sustaining profitable environment for the women of Kya Sand.
As with many creative projects that have become successful, Rare Bear started off with humble beginnings.
Rare Diseases South Africa needed a gift to warm the hearts of their paediatric patients, who needed a comforting friend when enduring difficult times.
Rare Diseases is a project that was initiated to develop a support group for families and patients with rare diseases.
Much like their patients, Rare Diseases did not want picture-perfect teddy bears but bears that were rare. This concept was pitched to friends at KyaKids, a community project run by Bryanston Bible Church, who offers skills workshops to the women of Kya Sand.
This was when Jedidjah Rotter (also known as Didi), who had recently learned to crochet, began the project. Didi and her partner in crime, Raymond Amm, decided that this could be a feasible project the women could benefit from.
Every Wednesday, the group of women are taught primary healthcare and skills to create a healthy home life. “We figured that we could teach the women to crochet at each meeting and they could spend their spare time making the Rare Bears,” said Didi. The group started off with nine women and has grown to approximately 40.
The beginning, like many new ventures, was a rocky one, with the first-ever Rare Bear, resembling something out of a child’s nightmare. “With anything it takes practice and quickly the women learned different stitches,” she said.
The wool and stuffing for the bears are purchased by the women themselves, who then crochet and stuff them. The group of women decided among them to each create two to three special bears per week. Rare Diseases sells most of the stock on their website for R150 a bear, R100 goes to the women and R50 is used for shipping costs.
As of late, demand for the Rare Bears as corporate gifts and the sorts has increased and other Rare Bear ambassadors like Didi and Amm help the women sell their Rare Bears to the community.
“We are looking to appeal to corporates, companies or shops to make large orders. This helps us maintain a strong work ethic with the women and a steady flow of orders,” added Amm.
Rare Bears is far more than just a means to make a living to the group of women. The project creates an environment where women can teach each other, help one another and inspire creativity.
Each Rare Bear is unique and is filled with the love and care of the woman who made it with her own two hands. They are bought from the women, washed and a #RareBear button is attached.
For many women in the informal settlement, financial support is not always available. Here, each woman is responsible for her own production and is able to experience a sense of freedom, accomplishment and pride with every stitch.
To purchase a Rare Bear visit their Rare Diseases website or contact Rare Bear Ambassador Raymond Amm at ray@bbc.org.za or 084 037 2022.
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