Disappointed at the lack of employment prospects for young people and women in Bukoba,  we wanted to establish a business that effectively improved lives through employment, not charity. Not only does permanent employment provide a sense of purpose in life, it also enables a sense of pride, in that people can support their families, educate their children and plan for the future.

Coming from a teaching background combined with a love of sewing, we decided to embark on a garment production business. Initially we started with one particularly talented tailor and two unskilled machinists. Since then our team has grown to fifteen fabulous tailors and  trainees, a gardener and a cook.  Ongoing vocational training and skills development are important in raising individual self esteem and has proven to be very successful not just on an individual level, but for the project overall.  

The mainstay of the business has been manufacturing our Nguo Bora label school uniforms which are of the highest quality and, more importantly, are affordably priced for the local community. Too often Tanzanians are confronted with substandard garments that are cobbled together by self taught / poorly trained individuals employed on a casual basis and paid by the number of garments produced. Consequently, and understandably quality becomes secondary to quantity considerations. 

Fortunately, this is not the case with our team members. All members are paid above the minimum wage and enjoy entitlements such as sick leave, holiday pay and a monthly employer contribution to the national superannuation fund. Working conditions are clean and safe. Each employee receives a cooked meal at lunchtime and are able to take home produce from the factory vegetable plot for their family meal.
  

In addition, EGL has diversified into sewing workwear, hence the introduction of our lesser known Kifaru label.  

You have probably already established from the label that Kifaru is Swahili for rhinoceros. We feel that the rhino logo says it all, and reflects the sturdiness of our workwear. 

However Mamakemi is a glamorous lady and feels that a little beauty goes a long way. So now that we have filled all our World Vision orders, EGL is, at last, embarking on producing the Kemilembe label Spring / Summer collection in earnest. 

Look out world, here comes Kemilembe.