27 Mar 2014

Summer in Kgalagadi South can be extremely unbearable. The temperatures can hit over 40 degrees Celsius. But people of this area have learnt to live with this heat in an amazing way.

As they say, all things around us were once just ideas. The product we see represents decisions taken to transform those ideas into reality. So the structures or dresses found in this area were made in a way to accommodate the searing temperatures.

In Struizendam, most houses if not all, have verandas where people rest or sleep when the heat becomes unbearable.  It is a common sight to see people lying half naked on stretchers in  verandas to cool themselves off in the hot summer days.

This is not the only way people in the area have evolved to learn ways of dealing with such extreme temperatures. Sixty-three-year-old Ms Dinah Pienaar has found a niche in knitting sun hats or Kapie, thanks to her God given artistic abilities.

Ms Pienaar is a ladies’ friend, because the kapies are mostly adored by women. The somewhat introvert that is Ms Pienaar adorns ladies of Struizendam with the inimitable kapie; actually the entire village relies on her when they want these hats.

Walking about in the village your attention is unmistakably drawn to scores and scores of women wearing kapies in all arrays of colours. Like peacocks, the assortment of colours and altered patterns radiate with sheer beauty.  

Ms Pienaar learnt to make screen kapie, as some people call it, at tender age. She explains that she learnt the trade from her great grandparents. The hat was initially worn by women for shade from the scorching heat as there was no make-up. But now even men can be seen wearing them. Ms Pienaar says it was also worn by a bride to be two to three months prior to the wedding to maintain a fair complexion.

It also forms part of the ladies attire during polka dances. Its early origins are traced as far back as 1930. How this “screen saver” is made is also intriguing. Ms Pienaar says it is made from pieces of cloth including old dresses. Any light cloth material can be used except nylon.

Depending on what the customer wants, different pieces of cloth material are sewn together to add colour and a bit of variety. Making this rare head gear comes naturally to Ms Pienaar. Watching her in action, one sees an intrinsic value in her action; she does not make any measurements or a design before she starts sowing.  She takes a chunk of cloth, cuts it into two.

The first part makes the fore front and it is made thick for shade. A separate piece is cut to make provision for decoration. The second part is cut in two. The first half is lined with a white cloth to make the inside of the hat. This piece and the other half are sown together and pleats are made to decorate the entire garment.

The last piece is sown in at the back and it is made longer to avoid hot wind getting in. The straps are then sown in.  They are used to adjust the Kapie to fit to any head size then the other two straps at the front are made to tighten it.

Kapie making is the only source of income for Ms Pienaar. She sells it for P60 and she can make two per day. While she first took it up as a hobby, she now wants to turn it into a business because of the high demand.

She says a lot of women come to her when they want screen Kapies. She is the one who made kapies for the popular Struizendam Polka choir. Most people in the village bear testimony to Ms Pienaar’s talent. One such is Ms Hannah Matthys, 25.

She says she loves Ms Pienaar’s kapies because of her distinct artistic talent and they are top quality and durable.Ms Sophia Jass, 37, also bought hers from Pienaar and enjoys wearing it at work to shields her from the excessive heat of the day.

Ms Pienaar has made several attempts of turning her passion into a reliable business entity. She approached Women’s Affairs department but she was told that since she applied for goats through LIMID she could not be assisted. She cannot benefit twice.

For Ms Pienaar, peering into the future, she sees herself having a descent accommodation should her dream of turning her talent into a proper business come true. Ends