In 1994 Barbara Jackson bought a beaded ANC doll at the Grahamstown festival. At the time, she had no idea that this purchase would eventually help to transform the lives of many people.

A successful ceramicist, Barbara is a passionate collector of African art, and shares a conviction with her partner and fellow ceramicist, Shirley Fintz, that arts, crafts and tourism are South Africa's strengths and can be leveraged in any ways to bring income to the poor, higher self-esteem to the marginalized, and success to the nation.

Recognizing that there is a lot of undiscovered artistic talent among people in the townships, in January 2000, Barbara and Shirley gave their beaded dolls to Mothapelo Ngala to take to the townships around Cape Town, with the idea that some of the desperately poor unemployed women might use them as models for their own inspiration. Barbara and Shirley provided all the supplies, Mataphelo the transport and contacts in the communities.

Initially, 3 women responded, and when Mataphelo brought their dolls to Barbara and Shirley, and returned to the doll makers with cash, more women got interested, recognizing that doll making could be a real source of income - a source that would allow them to work at home, avoiding the costs of both childcare and transportation.

As the project grew from 3 to 140 beadwork artisans, Barbara and Shirley developed a group of coordinators, did some PR, and corresponded with agents. As artists themselves, Barbara and Shirley knew the value of what they were promoting, every doll being a unique piece of artwork.