Episode Summary
In this episode, recorded on the beach in Cape Town during the final days of Nikki's time in South Africa, she sits down with her friend Carmen Levendall — a motor mechanic turned laundromat owner turned community advocate. Carmen shares her winding path from a "lost teenager" in the northern suburbs of Cape Town to becoming one of the few women in South Africa's motor mechanic trade in the 1990s, to unexpectedly buying a laundromat in 2016 that would become a hub of dignity and healing for her community.
Carmen opens up about running Snow White Laundry as more than a business — offering warm clothes, coffee, and connection to homeless neighbors and elderly customers alike — and about her volunteer work at Paulsmoor Prison, where she co-founded Safe Harbor to support incarcerated mothers. The conversation closes on something every high-achiever needs to hear: what it really looks like to rest intentionally instead of pouring out until the cup runs dry.
What You'll Hear
- Nikki's signature opening question — "Who are you?" — and Carmen's answer: mom, wife, entrepreneur, volunteer, mechanic, recycler, and lifelong community person
- Growing up in Belhar, the culture shock of moving to Muizenberg after marriage, and realizing she'd been living with a "fixed mindset" about her own potential
- Landing in motor mechanics almost by accident — a NAMPAC bursary, a fear of "Spock" (electrical work), and becoming one of the only women training as a mechanic in 1996
- The unplanned leap into entrepreneurship: a customer's offhand comment, a laundromat that wasn't even on the market yet, and the leap of faith that became Snow White Laundry in December 2016
- Turning a business into a community — offering homeless neighbors clean clothes, hot coffee, and dignity, and watching lives change over the years
- Carmen's philosophy on business: people over profit, and why she believes it's actually more sustainable in the long run
- Her volunteer work at Paulsmoor Prison and the story behind founding Safe Harbor, an organization supporting incarcerated mothers
- A candid conversation about burnout — what happens when giving becomes pouring without ever refilling, and what "resting intentionally" actually looks like
- Carmen's big-picture vision for the next 25 years: a "human tune-up shop" combining the laundry, a mechanic bay, a coffee shop, and a landing space for women rebuilding their lives after incarceration
Notable Moments
- Carmen on discovering her potential: she describes moving from a "fixed mindset" to realizing "the potential is there" — a theme that shapes everything she's built since.
- On why she runs her business the way she does: profit isn't the point — job creation, dignity, and community are.
- On burnout: Carmen is refreshingly honest that doing deep, meaningful work with people she loves can bring "unbelievable joy" and "unbelievable burnout" in equal measure — and that learning to rest intentionally has been its own hard-won skill.
Reflection Challenge
This week's challenge from Nikki: find one thing that genuinely refills and recharges you — not just something that feels productive — so you can show up fully for the people and work you care about.
About Carmen
Carmen Levendall is a qualified motor mechanic, entrepreneur, and community advocate based in Cape Town, South Africa. She owns and operates Snow White Laundry, a neighborhood laundromat she's run since 2016, and serves as chairman of the board of Safe Harbor, an organization she helped found to support incarcerated mothers at Paulsmoor Prison.
To learn more about ResponseABLE, check out the website www.responseable.org or follow Professor Nikki James on LinkedIn or Instagram.
ResponseABLE is produced and edited by Northeastern Alumni, Nora Shepard. For more from Nora, subscribe to Good Disaster on Substack or connect with her on LinkedIn.
