Embrace your natural hair workshop and other stories

Happy Saturday!

So on this side of the world 25th May is Africa Freedom day and in Zambia it's a recognized bank/public holiday so the whole country had the day off. The ladies of Embrace Your Natural Hair took this as an opportunity to hold a natural hair workshop and what a great decision that was!

The day was amazing beginning with the weather, the venue, he speakers and ending with the lovely goodie bags we left with. I chose to keep my look simple and went with white and nude tones for both my outfit and my make-up. I finished it off with my signature bun and chitenge head wrap.

 

Finding the venue was pretty easy. One of my mom's baker friends owns Meraki Restaurant which is situated in Rhodespark: On Chaholi road;off Addis Ababa drive; Opposite Care For Business Hospital. It's a lovely place with a beautiful spacious garden ideal for hosting little events of just for having brunch/lunch or afternoon tea.

I arrived a little late *hides face* but you need to understand that getting into town from Mapepe (Chilanga District) takes time hey. I did however manage to get there in time to listen to the second speaker, Jayne of Urban Sheek Mag and see her presentation on headwraps. We learnt the basics and she even demonstrated how to tie a Gele (traditional Nigerian headgear)! She didn't stay long as she was heading off to another event (like the busy woman she is, lol) but she did leave a lady on hand to help at the stall and answer any questions we had.

Special guest Chilufya Mwelwa, a well known Zambian media personality known for her role in breaking the barriers for Natural haired women in media and in the workplace, was in attendance. She shared a little bit about her natural hair journey with us, going on fur years after transitioning involuntarily (because of her location) and doing her BC. She also spoke about support from her husband; Good hair practices; loving your hair and being comfortable & confident in your skin; self esteem; making friends in the journey; criticism at work and from other people in media; knowing yourself; children and young women embracing their hair; and staying in your lane but not being selfish about what you're doing. As the ever ready blogger I had a few comments and lots of questions for her, she answered them so well and addressed me warmly. Such a pleasure to have met her and listened to what she had to say.

It was encouraging to hear how she's dealt with so many issues and how she's come out from it stronger and having made a name for herself and other naturalistas. She rocked her TWA and a beautiful chitenge jacket that was made for the occasion by her sister-in-love who was also present. 

 Next to speak was co-founder Sharon Nyirenda and she spoke about her product junkie ways which was evident from her never ending stash of products. Lol. Her oil collection is so big she made me feel a little better about mine (which is what I told my mom when she picked me up later.lol). She explained all the different uses and benefits of all the products she uses and how she's finding out what works for her. All naturals go through a product junkie stage (I'm only just recovering from mine, see my hair regimen).

She also explained how she got onto the natural hair journey after suffering from a major setback that resulted in hair loss and her ending up with alopecia (a disease that affects the scalp). She told us how she's getting through it and how she got help from  Tamera Floyd of Natural Hair Rules who advised her on what products to use and got her back on the road to recovery. She also did a demonstration on how to mix up Henna for a protein treatment and explained all the benefits that come with it. She too answered all my questions graciously and I learnt quite a bit.

 Following her was co-founder Lusungu Chitunda who got us talking about styling natural hair, her everyday hair care routine and protective styles. It was interesting to hear the ladies thoughts on different styles, doing reviews and comparisons on different techniques and seeing demonstrations on how to execute them.
Lulu was very patient and explained the styles well. I think all the ladies went away knowing something new and how to achieve that look they'd been trying to, but just couldn't figure out on their own. She was rocking some amazing afro-kinky twists that had been installed for her by Sharon and styled using perm rods. Next protective style maybe? I've missed my braids.

The food was amazing! We had three options which all came with two accompanying sides: fries and a garden salad. I chose the Meraki club sandwhich (because chicken-mayo, bacon and healthy living) and was very pleased with the quality of the food as well as the service. I would/will definitely go back and I highly recommend it to anyone in Lusaka.

A beautiful cake was prepared for dessert and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

 
 The vendor table was well stocked with items from the aunty jackie's range, urban sheek mag and the embrace your natural hair women.

 

 

 

We closed up the meeting, with a few remarks from Thandiwe Ziba Hikone the founder, took several professional group photos and were handed some lovely mint goodie bags with the message "Thank you for coming! Here's some protein for inside and some protein for outside" and inside the bag was an ORS protein dc, a bottle of olive oil and a pack of soya chunks. How cute! So worth the ticket price of k100.

I was so nice meeting some of the other naturals present at the workshop and exchanging numbers. They were all lovely women of different ages and from different walks of life. Socializing was fun and it would be great to link up with them at another meet like this one.

 

 I caught up with and spoke to Thandiwe afterwards and thanked her for organizing the event. I asked her how long the group had been in existence, four years, and why she had started it. She thanked me for coming out to support and old me that it was a passion of hers and she wanted to make a platform where women would be able to help and support each other through the journey. There are two other hair platforms for Zambian women and she knows and supports them as they do her. #BlackGirlMagic.

It was a great experience and I'm glad I went. I hope to see more of you at the next workshop? Be on the look out for it and join their Facebook page! You'll be glad you did.

Bisous

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