Gone Rural

Gone Rural is a revolutionary leader in social enterprise. Inspired by 750 women weavers, we rethink & transform craft, taking it to new heights globally. Gone Rural started organically in the 1970s and was officially registered in 1992. Our founder, the late Jenny Thorne, co-founded a series of shops across Swaziland which sold local crafts. Through these, she saw an opportunity to use handcraft as a means to empower the women of Swaziland. Until recently, Swazi women had very few rights and were forced to rely on men to support them – not even allowed to own a piece of land in their own name. But up in the mountains, where the indigenous lutindzi grass grows wild, Jenny saw women weaving and saw an opportunity to help them use these skills to secure a sustainable, independent income with which to support themselves and their families. Today, Gone Rural works with more than 750 artisans in 13 groups across Swaziland – from young women to gogos (grandmothers) and often with three generations of women from one family. By providing our women with self-employed, home-based work, we empower them with a sustainable income, while still allowing them to fulfill their traditional duties and provide care to dependents. Today, we supply our woven products to hundreds of retailers around the globe, allowing us to quadruple artisan incomes in the last few years. We also invest (at least) 30% of annual profits into our community development organisation Gone Rural boMake.