The Ma(i)de Sessions: Recent Episodes
CliffCentral.com
Domestic workers and cleaners occupy a unique position in a society. They are simultaneously the most ubiquitous and invisible among us. They are ever-present in our personal, professional and public spaces but often go largely undetected. These women have the potential to be the most powerful and astute social commentators as they hold a mirror to ourselves, to our children, and to our fellow citizens. Be a fly on the wall as we gain their unique perspectives on an interesting range of matters that characterise South African society.
In an interesting (but not surprising) turn of events this week, CliffCentral's very own Jane goes from guest to presenter extraordinaire. Join the ladies as they decide to get Jane in their corner... or is it Jane's corner??? Talk about flipping the unscript!
Loice Chaza has been able to move from one living wage to another. Hear how she used to hustle before she earned a reasonable wage and what her dreams look like now that she has some financial breathing room. Whilst last week's show walked us through how to implement a living wage, this week's show reveals the impact that it has on the receiver.
Founder of one of Johannesburg's most beloved coffee companies, Jonathan Robinson, is in studio to tell us how he got his 40-strong staff body onto living wages. We get his take and approach on equity, bonuses, overtime, training and more.
How much could you achieve if your housekeeper knew how to drive? If there was an accident in your pool could your housekeeper swim to your rescue and administer first aid? Does your housekeeper know how to defend herself and safeguard your home against neighborhood crime? These questions and more as the ladies reveal the hidden superpowers of housekeepers in South African homes.
The tensions between social classes of the same cultural or racial groups is no new thing. This is most felt around the cleaners in our corporate offices or at the mall, and of course with the domestic workers in our private homes. Besides the discomfort of having to give orders to someone old enough to be your parent, you could also be accused of thinking you are better than them when you lay down your expectations of them. Middle-class black female advertiser Ayanda Dlamini comes in to discuss the dilemma, or maybe the myth of being a 'better black'.
If you've hung around the CliffCentral Headquarters then you've probably met Jane. And once you have, you may feel like you've known her forever. But there's plenty more to this force of nature than meets the eye, and it comes as no surprise that her middle name means 'she who controls the rain'. Find out this and more about her journey from running away to Joburg at age 16, to selling vetkoek on dusty streets, to bringing laughs and capturing hearts here at CliffCentral.com.
Felicia and Sally left Zimbabwe 15 and 12 years ago respectively. They came to share with us how and where they started when they got to South Africa, who helped them, and what their futures look like from where they’re standing. From man drama to expiry dates to black tax, you might just find something you relate to.
Simphiwe Mthethwa is in studio to talk about the Ma(i)de Sessions and to educate us on creating authentic content. Turns out the thing even more important than taking back the land is taking back our stories. Plus find out why South African audiences deserve better from the entertainment and media industries.
UBUNTU - 'A person is a person through other people'. Although beautiful in theory, many have argued its misuse and sometimes abuse, like how Africans might have practiced this when the settlers first reached our shores and that is what got us colonised. Can Ubuntu be used to hold someone’s principles against them for their own benefit? Is Ubuntu expected of some and not of others, and is that being taken advantage of by some? Architecture student Simphiwe Mlambo, who is in the process of designing an Ubuntu Centre at Constitution Hill, explores this dreamy philosophy in both its glory and misgivings as we ask: where to from here?
Mbali wrote a poem about domestic workers. Turns out it's about all of us, and the good old game of life. If you fancy a reality check then here it is.
Award-winning copywriter and comedian, Amanda ‘part-of-the-furniture’ Horwitz, turns the table on MADE co-founder Tuliza Sindi to spark some much-needed productive reflection on the growth, progress, vision, potential and mark of the company thus far.
After a year Lerato is back in studio to take her story a generation further. Lerato's mom was a domestic worker. Sadly, both her parents passed when she was just 10 and she was adopted by her mom's white employers. Through her journey between extremely different South African worlds she has become something of a shapeshifter whilst never losing sight of the woman within her. Proud to be her mother's daughter, Lerato shares the generational wealth she hopes to pass down to her own children.
Robert Botha is a middle-aged white South African male who wrote a poem about a special person, probably a domestic worker, standing outside a gate in time. Don't miss his pearls of wisdom on identity, connection, servanthood, and the power of silence. Enlightened doesn't even cut it!
When last have you had someone speak for you or tell your story? It can be entertaining or flattering at the best or inaccurate and even insulting at worst. Workerstories.org decided to collect the stories of those often spoken for, in their own words, through creative literature. What more unbeatable way to embody experiences than through those experiencing them. Projects like these remind us how no one should be reduced to their circumstance, and that our modern-day Einstein or Steve Jobs could be hiding in plain sight... or more specifically, your lounge or local fast food joint.
Today we review a poem called 'At Your Gate' by Robert Botha. 'White male' can appear in many ways to be the opposite of 'domestic worker' but his piece is nothing short of haunting and insightful. A true testament to the beauty and complexity of the South African artist.
Nelly's always been an intrapreneur. Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organisation. Lately however, she's taken it a step further and is looking to gradually start her own cleaning business. Guess what that's called... outrepreneurship? Whatever the term, Nelly knows more than a thing or two about it. From cleaning a floor to crossing it, this lady is certainly one to watch!
In our second instalment of "what would South Africa be without 'help'?" (since it is a question we are always asked), the hosts explore a range of hypotheticals in a mind-warping conversation with many interesting twists and turns. Talk about a mental workout... phew!
What might South Africa look like if 'help' was re-envisioned? Tuliza takes it a step further with a news broadcast from 2074. Fifty bucks says you push replay... more than once!
Is hope a sellable product? Is it a skill? Is it both? Either way, some seem to have it and some don’t. Better yet, some seem to know how to use it, while others don’t know where to begin to find it. So people sell it to us in the form of motivational speaking, like Tony Robbins. You can’t even really map who will have it and who won’t. Sometimes hardship triggers it and sometimes it’s from a belief that your life is worth more than what your comforts can offer. Either way, Bridget Moema has it in bucket loads and so does her protégé, 2017’s Miss Inspire SA Teen 2nd Princess Letlotlo Matabane. You might want to buy what they're selling. A mouthful I know, but a worthwhile mouthful at that.
What does your domestic worker know about you that nobody else does? A slightly awkward question for us all, no doubt, but we recently asked it to a large group of 14-year old boys at St. John's College... and truly remarkable things happened. We've invited their teacher Lizzy to chat about what went down.
The ladies FINALLY chat to the three UJ students who were chosen as the winners for the redesign of the domestic worker uniform for Ma(i)de's ReDress Project. They share the philosophy behind their design as well as how profoundly this process has enriched the ways they practice as SA fashion designers. One step for domestic workers and a leap for three young fashion minds.
Our dear Tuliza Sindi has never had help. Everrrrr(ish). And yet she's alive and well to tell the tale. To many this may sound a not-so-small miracle. Right?!? How on earth did she do it? A combination of boys and neighbours apparently, and some healthy childhood... mechanisation. A fascinating journey, which in many ways has made her far better at 'lifeing' (living 2.0) than most of us.
Would you respond to a job ad that required you to smell 'nice', bath twice a day, be free of illness, and hand over your passport? How exactly do you screen someone's bath times anyway? What is this cryptic illness? And, isn't it called trafficking when you take away someone's travel documents? What the hell is going on here? Find out...
Where is the intersection between work and leisure? In a recent Twitter faux pas on the 'therapeutic value' of domestic work... we think Miss Elana Afrika may have gotten ummm... lost in Twanslation. Join us as we try to map her route and leave a few breadcrumbs along the way.
It’s one thing to want to pursue a career you can get a degree in that your parents don’t quite approve of, like art history or theatre arts. It’s no coincidence that both of those examples have the word ‘art’ in it. Now imagine explaining to your parents that you want to get paid to be yourself; you want to make being yourself a career; a creative career. Imagine that those parents are poor, like below the poverty line poor, and their longing wish is for you to become a lawyer or doctor, you know, something far more credible and financially viable. They tell you that this dream is what has kept them in their deeply dissatisfying jobs and their hard-earned money cannot entertain such foolishness as pursuing dreams. Only 30 percent of those who work are in their dream jobs. The rest? Well... it’s complicated. With us on this show is Innocent, who has a domestic worker for a mother and a father he only just met. With the financial chips stacked against him, he has still chosen to pursue his creative compulsions. Have a listen to his story and find out where you stand in the passion vs. stability tug of war.
The Nocebo effect, as panellist Timothy Maurice rightfully pointed out, is when a negative expectation of a phenomenon or experience causes it to have a more negative effect than it otherwise should. Sometimes if we expect to be judged in the clothes that we wear, we will feel judged, even if no one is judging us. This is a constant reality for domestic workers, where a constant feeling of shame and judgement slowly eats at a healthy perception of themselves and how they perform. It is not all in their heads though; we do also judge. The Ma(i)de ReDRESS event, in collaboration with Yvonne Chaka Chaka and the University of Johannesburg, prompted a discussion around the frightfully and excitingly powerful capacity for clothing to advance human thinking and behaviour. This is a conversation worth joining.
Urban design is, simply put, about public space: the spaces that we share. What we are comfortable to share is a reflection of the type of people that we are. Others learn about us through our public spaces. Apartheid spatial planning designed hostile and exclusive public spaces. The only thing that was exempt from that planning was domestic workers. Only domestic workers were allowed to be in areas where their race was banned. That role was the only glitch in a perfect design. You'd be surprised what that glitch has managed to do to our city growth in what was our very carefully designed separation.
To extend the International Women's Day celebrations from yesterday, The Ma(i)de Sessions dug up some good ol' inspiring moments of womanhood throughout the shows to date and as you can imagine, there are plenty! The ladies have somehow managed to narrow it down to 5 moments; 5 whole moments that's sure to remind you that womanhood is just a beautiful thing. Happy. Truly. Enjoy.
Innocent and Koketso are 21 year old twins. They have only known each other for a month. Innocent, a boy, lived with their mother and Koketso, a girl, lived with their father, with only one of them aware that the other exists. Innocent was told that his father had died. Koketso was told that she had other siblings and not much else. This Khumbulekhaya-inspired episode takes us on a journey to uncover this ever-present South African condition of the engineered broken home.
Nigel "the white guy they don't want you to know about" Branken discusses how he got to pay a living wage, rather than the minimum wage to his then domestic worker, Loice. He helps us understand how this is no small feat, by tying into what we've come to know as our very networked economic machine.
The ladies round up their impressions on The Help - the movie that tracks the journey of Skeeter, a young white female writer determined to write something meaningful with the courageous black maids in her town of Jackson, Mississippi in 1962.
Over the next two weeks the ladies review The Help, a 2011 American film directed and written by Tate Taylor, and adapted from Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. The film and novel recount the story of young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan. The story focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights era in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. In an attempt to become a legitimate journalist and writer, Skeeter decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids - referred to as "the help" - exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families.
Lebo didn't matriculate with her class at age 18. Among other things, she fell pregnant and had to get her hustle on to support her child. This saw her leave her home in Limpopo to become a domestic worker in Johannesburg... which didn't last for long because she has always had lofty dreams, which include Forbes Magazine spreads and sports cars. This is why at age 26, she has decided to pry her matric certificate out of adversity's cold, dead hands. We could all take a page out of her book of hustle!
Ever heard of Clothes by Christine? Bet you haven't, so remember you heard it here first! Christine is a domestic worker by day and designer/tailor extraordinaire by night. She's also her very own model, in more ways than one. The ladies interview her and uncover a business sensibility that could school the likes of Valentino. Check out her story and get your orders now before she takes the stage in Milan!
Julie, much like her employer Penny, is a national asset - or what socio-business analysts might term a return on human investment (R.O.H.I. - it's totally a thing...). She is the classic example of the benefits that accrue from treating our domestic workers as partners and equals. This is an instructive podcast for anyone looking to understand and unleash the power in their professio-personal (haha, that too is a thing) relationships. Check it out!
The Ma(i)de Model unleashes the most underestimated in a society by harnessing the ironic yet insane power of silence, invisibility, and obscurity. We run quite a few pioneering ventures that awaken historically unheard voices whilst elevating them to their rightful place in our social and economic order. As a third party common to all South African realities, domestic workers in particular provide us a powerful lens to navigate the most uncharted territory. Our inquiries are not limited to any single medium: they range from broadcasting, to economics, to fashion, to architecture, to storytelling, and so much more.
Not uninspired by Her Majesty of talk, Oprah Winfrey, the ladies kick off 2017 with lessons learnt from their favourite shows of 2016. These may look and sound like New Year's resolutions but that's just a coincidence...Oprah would NEVER make everyman New Year's Resolutions...only timeless pearls of wisdom.
The Ma(i)de Sessions hosts explore architecture's social and psychological properties and the impact that it has on domestic workers in South Africa, i.e. how does physical space affect our head-space? South Africa's history in particular is a prime example of how space has been used to segregate, oppress, exploit, and to monopolise power - this was the architecture of Apartheid. This phenomenon can still be mapped on varying scales, down to our very own homes. Who better than our very own Tuliza, architect extraordinaire, to help us understand our social blueprint through 6 key lenses.
Do you know the difference between the au pair industry and the domestic work industry? The origin might surprise you, but it will really clarify the dynamics. Our resident au pair Mbali is interviewed to uncover the real and perceived differences between such similar roles, as well as what created it. Self-reflection is the order of the day. Take a listen.
Office cleaners are a huge asset to companies. Think about it. Who would want to work or spend their money in squalor? How would it affect your day if the office restrooms were stinky and the coffee station was unstocked. How would it affect your business if the client slipped on a banana peel? They create the necessary conditions for the machine to churn. Perhaps most importantly though, they have untapped expertise on trimming overheads - ahhh, bet that got your attention...
After being strangled within an inch of her life in her own home, Penny didn't run from crime - instead she took it head on! She spearheaded Domestic Watch, a programme that works with domestic workers and gardeners to fight crime in South Africa. By leveraging the powerful networks and intelligence held by these women and men, Domestic Watch has made Johannesburg's neighbourhoods significantly safer for us all. We think the Ministry of State Security could really take a page from her book...and then sign a cheque from theirs!
Yvonne Chaka Chaka is a force of nature. She is both a legendary songstress and an active civil society leader. Celebrated across the world as one of the Mothers of our Nation, it all began with her very own mother, who was a domestic worker. Yvonne’s story is testament to the remarkable power of domestic workers in South Africa. Join her for an exclusive interview with the domestic workers of the Ma(i)de Sessions, and discover a side to this South African icon's story that few people have heard.
Are we our industry name? A mere collection of adjectives? Pronouns, tags, stereotypical labels? Tuliza explores, with Afrikaans Urban Planner Lené le Roux, the many titles that have defined the lady in your home and how those words have mutated with the sometimes messy presence of culture, prejudice and personal opinion. Where do you fit into all of this? Let's find out.
Felicia and Amanda had very different upbringings. Where their lives intersected was not just through domestic work, but also their deep mutual love for animals of the domesticated kind. Although sometimes a horror story between domestic worker and family pet, this dynamic duo helps us explore the source of their common love for these creatures of nurture through Lulu and Frankie’s biltong and teeth brushing habits.
Do you know how to make a baby bottle? Wash a dog? Mow the lawn? Discipline a child that is not yours? We start today with the first of The Interview Series, where we will conduct less-than-conventional interviews on behalf of a high profile 'madam' in search of a perfect fit. Mfundo kicks it off with some kasi insights on all things domestic and helps us answer the age old question: what is the right way to wash and stack dishes?!
Sometimes professions turn into family legacies; this isn’t always a good thing. We’ve found that most of the women we’ve spoken to have found themselves in their jobs by accident, one usually brokered by a third party (most often a family member). Like many domestic workers, Linda inherited her job from her mother who passed when she was just 16. Tonight, we explore with her and her son, Hope, a slew of events and conflicting feelings as well as a little baby vomit.
The ladies reflect on their journey so far. It's certainly been a whirlwind. They share some of the lessons they've learnt about forgiveness, stigma, and the art of guerrilla warfare.
Sometimes seemingly simple conversations can become hard. Often we find ourselves talking AT each other rather than TO each other; in an effort to be heard. Our conversation with Stima unfolded in this fashion. She expelled her thoughts under the topic of 'money and power'; an ever-so-present and prevalent force in the silencing of domestic workers like her. No irony there.
The ladies reflect on last week's parody show, Your Bantu Servant and You. They try to figure out what parts of this whacky document by the Department of Non-European Affairs of 1962 are fact or fiction in present day South Africa. They also introduce us to an official open letter published by the domestic workers of the Ma(i)de Sessions this week titled, 'Dear Madam'.
This broadcast has been prepared by the Department of Non-European Affairs in hopes that it will help you in your day to day dealings with your Bantu servant. Remember ladies, never appear in front of your male servants in a state of undress! This and more in a Ma(i)de Sessions feature, hot off the 1962 press!
What if you left the country on a holiday to visit your spouse who was working in Zimbabwe to feed your family? What if suddenly you couldn't come back home and had to leave your kids in the care of their grandparents in a South Africa that was being run into the ground by Jacob Zuma, who had become a lunatic dictator out to crush all opposition and get revenge on the whites? How about if the only work you could get in Zimbabwe was as an undocumented domestic worker or builder? Sound surreal? Not so much! This is exactly the reality of our guest Sibahle and many a Zimbabwean immigrant living amongst us. Join the Ma(i)de Sessions and Zim Conversations for a surprisingly breakthrough podcast which brings to light much of what South Africans take for granted.
Amanda is a white South African whose earliest memories of domestic work are from the dark (or rather white) ages of Apartheid. She talks us through her bittersweet experiences with the women who have played an indelible role in her life. Amanda’s is a South African journey in all its glory, with colourful tones and powerful shades of human consciousness. Part 2 of the series.
Amanda is a white South African whose earliest memories of domestic work are from the dark (or rather white) ages of Apartheid. She talks us through her bittersweet experiences with the women who have played an indelible role in her life. Amanda’s is a South African journey in all its glory, with colourful tones and powerful shades of human consciousness.
Domestic work is one of those areas where in many ways South Africa is considered the special child in the global community. Ruth is an expat living in South Africa and she joins the Ma(i)de Sessions to give an outsider’s observations on our local remix of this global institution. To paraphrase Trevor Noah: the world goes one way, and South Africa goes “Sha’p guys, we’ll meet you there – going to take a sho’t cut!”. Ahhh… this is why we love it here.
What is the difference between polygamy and cheating? Is a man a financial plan? Should married couples have separate bedrooms or even houses? And then there are mother-in-laws... 'nuff said. This and more in Pt 2!
21st century marriages are a dramatic affair with the old and the new constantly battling co-existence. Langa and Mandla come from different generations and have 35 years of domestic work experience between them. Drawing from their own experiences in addition to having worked for a variety of couples, they provide interesting observations on this evolving domestic institution.
What determines our aspirations? Is it our concept of opportunity or its concept of us? We asked two domestic workers about their personal aspirations to help us unpack this conundrum.
Pachida's mom arrived in South Africa and built a strong and sustainable livelihood for her and her child. However, if you asked a six-year-old Pachida what her Mom did for a living, she would have told you, "My mom has a second family". Then you might have said, "WAIT, HOOOLD UP! Can that be a job? In the economy? Parenting? Can we buy mothers, like on the market, with our credit cards?" Until you obviously realised, "Of course, it's like human civilisation. Money can buy you like... anything". Yes?
Is Beauty real? Or is she actually Status in lipstick and stilettos? Furthermore, is it all part of a cosmic plan? Meisie and Sibahle help us to unpack what our face makeup tells us about our soul makeup. From interracial attraction, to skin bleaching, nose pegging, and even the Black girl version of 'jungle fever' - we like to call this socio-cosmetic surgery.
What is the real value of domestic workers? What is real value, period, and how is it linked to our values? Is one person's R10 worth more than another's? What can we learn from domestic workers about budgeting and investing? Finally, who are the Khumalos, the Naidoos, and the Krugers and why do we try so hard to keep up with them? This and more in a very rich (pun intended) conversation with Nikki, a financial planner, on the world of maidenomics.
Bra Joe is a taxi driver and a man of God. No - he's LITERALLY a pastor. But aren't taxi drivers meant to be lawless and Godless people? Well, apparently not. According to Bra Joe, in his line of work you've really gotta pray. A LOT. Mbali and Tuliza are joined by Mandla, a domestic worker, to interview Bra Joe on the life and times of taxi drivers. From passengers, to motorists, to policy makers, and fellow humans - there's a little FYI in here for us all.
Our domestic workers are the waste brigade. They know the money we've used and the money we've wasted well before it leaves our bank balance. They also observe the many social pressures that come with our pursuit of more. They know the old jeans we live in, the trendy shoes we only wore once, the untouched Bourbon we bought to impress our friends back in 2008, and that overpriced slimming tea we'd rather not talk about. Join Mbali and Tuliza as they tackle the ever-complicated relationship between wealth, tradition, and values.
Mfundo's mom is a domestic worker and his dad was a taxi driver. He is a 'born free', but for him attending University has been more of a street fight than a birthright. He joins the Ma(i)de Sessions to tackle the ever-burning question: Which of us are born free?
South Africa is a nation obsessed with 'otherness'. But what the hell is 'othering' and who is 'The Other'? We continue our chat to Sociologist, Ragi, to try to understand what domestic work tells us about our conditioning. A very ideological conversation, but an important one to begin to understand our domestic workers on far more intellectual terms.
Domestic work is an interesting probe into our evolution as a society. @maideproject are joined by talented and nuanced sociologist, Ragi Bashonga, for a much-needed reflective session on who, why and where we are: as Ma(i)de, as South Africans; as humans.
Lindiwe Shibambo is a bit like Neo. Her strengths defy the rules of social mobility. Recently she told us her amazing South African story - kicking ass and taking names, whilst moving between socio-economic brackets with the mad skills of a ninja. Later, she's joined by two lady comrades to discuss the power of a uniform. This is revolution. This is the Matrix.
Lerato's mother was a domestic worker. When her and her husband died, Lerato was taken in and raised by her mother's white employers. From that day she has taken a 360 degree journey around South African identity politics. Talk about a trip. Listen in to this candid and authentic conversation on white privilege, black privilege, as well as all the mayhem in between.
Domestic workers play an integral role in the raising of South Africa's children. They are in many ways the co-parents of our nation. Find out what they think we may be missing as we raise future generations of South African adults.
Domestic workers and cleaners occupy a unique position in society. They are simultaneously the most ubiquitous and invisible among us. The Ma(i)de Sessions advocates that these women have the potential to be the most powerful and astute social commentators as they hold a mirror to ourselves, to our children and to our fellow citizens. Be a fly on the wall as we gain their unique perspectives on an interesting range of matters that characterise South African society.