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The Halfway Point

This is episode 5 of Season 2 of Shades and Layers, and I like where we are with the conversations today. We've talked mental and physical well-being.

It is not possible to speak Wellness, Well-being and Black women and not talk about African spirituality. Today, my guest and sangoma Nokulinda Mkhize Horwood discusses her profession, her own practice, her observations of changing attitudes towards sangomas over the past 13 year's since her initiation and some of the challenges she still faces in her work.

Nokulinda is known as @noksangoma on social media and she's also well-known for her often sold-out talks, Gogo Speaks. Judging by the popularity of these talks, not only is she providing a much needed service, but she is part of the zeitgeist of the de-colonial movement of young South Africans. Her presence and visibility are both  liberating and deeply necessary for her peers.

Our discussion covers everything, from the role of family in spiritual well-being, alienation and anxiety in the city, capitalism-induced spiritual crises in South African urbanites,  Covid-19, Nokulinda's own well-being and how it's changed her approach to life in general and her practice as a sangoma.

It might all sound serious, but it's a fun conversation and we do get super silly at the end of the conversation. You will love it!


GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Indumba - A sangoma’s healing room, traditionally a hut. It is nonetheless a sacred space.

Amatwasa - Initiates training to become sangomas

Ukufemba - a healing process designed to trap and remove negative energies and/or evil spirits

uMgidi - celebratory ceremony

Amasiko - cultural ustoms

Ubuntu - I am because we are

Ubungoma - a spiritual calling

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Welcome to Episode 4 of Season 3. 

It’s not possible to talk about wellness and not discuss massage therapy and spa treatments, it is definitely one of the first association that people make when talking about wellness. 

If you go for treatment at many South African spas, you will most likely have black women attending to your needs, but look in the fancy office upstairs or closer at the ownership/management structure, and chances are it will not be a black woman sitting behind the desk or there are few or none listed on the management team. 

There are some exceptions of course and one of them is the Relax Luxury Spa Group. My guest today is Noli Mini, who is the Founder and CEO of this strong Cape Town brand, and today she shares her personal and professional journey to success, as an entrepreneur. We talk representation, lessons learned, family, Covid-19 and the future.

Noli is also an active member of several wellness and hospitality industry associations and bodies, she is an advocate for youth entrepreneurship and most importantly, uses her story to inspire others to follow their own dreams. 

I hope you will be inspired by her energetic personality, resilience and optimism.   

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This is episode 3 of Season 2, where I focus on black women who make it their business to change the face of wellness and well-being.

This week, my guest is Fitness Influencer and Asics frontrunner ambassador for Copenhagen, Ntokazi Mposula, affectionately known as Zozo. She is also the founder of the creative project and community called My Beautiful People. She recently launched a podcast called Single, Not by Choice

Zozo arrived in Denmark 20 years ago as an exchange student. In this wide-ranging conversation, she shares her journey to creating #mybeautifulpeople, her mission to make fitness more accessible to black women and how yoga saved her from falling apart during a difficult period of her life. 

Zozo’s story captures the journey of so many black women in Denmark, and if you're new to the country, do take good notes. It’s a story of reinvention, and as you will hear, it’s something she learned from the entrepreneurial women who raised her.

Photo by @amandathomsenphotography

Mentioned in this episode: Township Street Games like Igusha and Three Toti, read more about these via GroundUp

#asicsfrontrunner202#ThisIsMeRun#runkeeper#imoveme#sunrisemind #soundmindsoundbody #copenhagen #mybeautifulpeople

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Yema Ferreira is an Angolan-born psychotherapist living in Denmark where she uses her healing gifts for 'Facilitating Black Girl Magic'. She knew from early on in life that she wanted to work with people therapeutically to resolve trauma. And so she studied psychology at Temple University and later trained in Existential Psychotherapy at the Psykoterapeutisk Institut in Denmark. She now has her own practice in Copenhagen where she consults  local and international clients. 

This wide-ranging conversation with Yema encompasses how she approaches her work with women of African descent, how she helps them re-frame their own narratives  and use different tools for self-healing. She also shares how she goes about the business of healing herself. 

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Welcome to Season 2 of the Shades and Layers podcast!

Trigger Warning

In this episode, Thokozani Ndaba, Founder and Executive Director of the South African non-profit Ntethelelo Foundation, shares her story. We talk about the impact she's been able to make through her life's work in one of her home country's poorest neighborhoods, Alexandra township. Thokozani and her team of volunteers at the foundation use Applied Drama and theatre techniques to help young girls, their families and broader community to find solutions to their own unique set of challenges. She also addresses issues around being a sexual assault survivor, and how this fuels her work.

Pic by Nunu Ngema

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

- South African Visual Aritsts, Lady Skollie and Nelson Makamo

- Lekgotla - loosely translated it means a gathering or meeting place in Setswana, but the word also encapsulates democracy in action where participants (leaders) are contributors to important decisions concerning a community. These can range from local feuds to criminal cases to the future of a clan.

-Award Winning Activist: In 2018, Thokozani was awarded a GLAMOUR Women of the Year Award for her work

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In today's episode we meet Johannesburg- based entrepreneur Linda Gieskes – Mwamba, the founder and CEO of Suki Suki Naturals

Born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo to entrepreneurial parents, Linda's venture into entrepreneurship started when  she wanted to ditch the chemicals and grow out her natural afro-textured hair. 

She quickly discovered that she literally could not afford to grow her own natural hair because either the products were too expensive and not really worth the cost, or if they were cheap, they were full of the very chemicals she was trying to avoid,  So, she decided to do something about it.

After months of  shopping in the food aisles, she created her own oil blend, which is now the hero product of the brand, the Miraculous Oil. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

Join us for a wonderful chat that ranges in subjects and  have you wanting to go out there and create something of your own.

Check out Suki Suki Naturals' wicked combination of indigenous African fruits, herbs and plants via their instagram account @sukisukinaturals 

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This week's episode of Shades and Layers breaks the mould a little, with a look at a "cosmeceutical" brand, Uso Skin Care. So far, we have explored the indie beauty industry, but once you hear the story of founder and CEO of African Dermal Science, Dr. Theo  Muthoa-Frendo, you will understand why this story is important. 

There are three important things to learn from Theo's journey: 

•  Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve 
•  Start where you are and use your network
•  Success has a lot to do with how well you understand yourself and how you use the resources around you

Uso Skin Care products sit alongside international famous brands at the Edgars department stores in three Southern African countries. This is a first for a black, woman-owned beauty brand from South Africa, and hope you will enjoy hearing how Theo and her team made it happen. 

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ANiM Naturals was officially launched in 2017 by founder Akosua Koranteng.

I caught up with the Ghanaian born South African entrepreneur soon after the opening of the very first storefront for ANiM Naturals, which is at The Beauty Box in Cape Town’s Waterfront 'Made in Africa' market, The Watershed. The Beauty Box features other African made beauty brands.

This was also soon after the Clicks natural hair debacle (see details below), and we took some time to discuss and reflect on what happened.

Speaking to Akosua is both a Masterclass in entrepreneurship and very deep insights into how her mind works. She is passionate and driven, while also remaining very grounded.

ON THE CLICKS DEBACLE

The South African beauty and pharmaceutical retailer, Clicks, recently caused outrage among black South Africans with an advertisement featuring black and white women's hair, labeling the black woman's natural afro hair as 'dry and damaged', and the white woman's blonde straight hair as 'normal'. The public outrage caused by this careless oversight made international headlines and many politicians and celebrities weighed in on the issue, to great effect.... 

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This episode of Shades and Layers takes us to my home country, South Africa, to find out what's happening in the beauty and personal care aisles at supermarkets and . Having had the privilege to visit home frequently also made me aware that there's are many young women making things happen in the personal care industry.

Olwethu Ngcobo, founder of Lolaandcoorganics, is one of these young women in the industry. During her profile interview, we spoke about her brand new handmade lavender-infused facial range, which looks divine and makes us wish we could buy it all. Head on over to her Instagram account where she goes by @lolaandcoorganics and @organicbaddie

What you will learn about Olwethu is that she is able to stay grounded, while staying ambitions. She knows what she wants and goes after it with confidence and determination. It was a fun chat (even the dog joined in at some point).

ON THE CLICKS DEBACLE

The South African beauty and pharmaceutical retailer, Clicks, recently caused outrage among black South Africans with an advertisement featuring black and white women's hair, labeling the black woman's natural afro hair as 'dry and damaged', and the white woman's blonde straight hair as 'normal'. Needless to say the public outrage made international headlines and many politicians and celebrities weighed in on the issue, to great effect.... 

You can hear more about this issue in future episodes with some other beauty entrepreneurs.

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Gettheblacbox

If you're a black woman who's ever done personal care shopping in Copenhagen, then you know the frustration of this futile mission. And then you start debating if it's worth the trek from your home to Copenhagen city centre or if ordering via Amazon is better, but then what if you don't like the products and what if .... grrrr... That's been a familiar dance, until now.

Enter theblacbox.co, a beauty subscription service started by Abi Olusanya. This UK native (via Nigeria) figured she'd put her passion for trying out new beauty products and entrepreneurial skills to good use by starting her very own box. Her reveals on Instagram are legendary. 

Her energy is infectious and I hope you enjoy getting to know her and her brand. 

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