African Woodsmoke

Last night we braaied for our South African heritage, culture and traditions with a group of South Africans in DC.  We were officially the first South Africans to celebrate Heritage Day and cooked up some awesome boerewors.

Chisa Nyama is the Zulu word to braai (bbq). On September 24 South African will be braaiing across the world to celebrate the great culture of South Africa. No matter race, color, social situation, we will all be joining tongs and braaiing to celebrate the culture of South Africa.

If you plan to invite friends round for a braai on Heritage Day (Friday, September 24, but Saturday will also do, or both), send us your address by filling in the form here, and we’ll send you an apron like the one our colleague Vuyo Vezi is modelling on the right.

Chisa Nyama was inspired by Jan Scannell at braai4heritage.co.za and his patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who explains it all in this video:

Cheers,

Woodsmoke Team

Johnny Clegg wrote this song on behalf of Nelson Mandela and it is truly beautiful. You can feel the spirit of Africa in it!

Last night we had a great Woodsmoke Evening for the Siena Park apartment residents.  It turned out to be a beautiful evening here in DC once again.  The Diemersfontein Pinotage & Degrendal Rose were the huge hits of the evening.  To purchase some of the great wine that was enjoyed last night go HERE. Here are some photos from last night, thanks for coming!

We have some awesome new fall scarves in.  To purchase go HERE. Check them out here:

Kokopelli in Annapolis have teamed up with Woodsmoke and are helping us to support education in Africa by selling our scarves at their store. They are a great family owned store, their address is: 149, Main St, Annapolis, MD.  Here is a little bit about them:

“Family owned and operated for over 21 years, Kokopelli’s purpose is to make shopping in our stores a unique and memorable experience.

Started by Jane & Ron Reifler in 1988, Kokopelli now has three locations: Columbia Mall, Towson Town Center, and now in Downtown Annapolis. Daughter, Jill Lehr, now also helps run the company.

Kokopelli sets itself apart from other stores by offering exceptional customer service and unique handcrafted and designed products from all over the world.

Kokopelli… the place to shop!”

Cheers,

Woodsmoke Team

This was my interview on 10/11 news where I speak a little bit about why I started Woodsmoke.  Also check out some of Woodsmoke’s great products in the background.

Cheers,

Sean Founder Woodsmoke

Earlier this year we had a goal to sell 258 scarves in 2 months to help to educate one of Miriam Kamanthe’s sons, Christopher.  With your help we far exceeded this goal and gave Christopher the chance to go to school for one year.  Unfortunately, I could not make it to Kenya to hand over the money to Miriam because of extremely high airline prices.  We were able to get her the money through some very good friends that live in Kenya though.  Miriam was ecstatic to say the least.

Education is the ultimate gift that you can give in Africa.  Families struggle to afford the high cost of education in Kenya and receive very little government subsidy.  Education gives hope for a brighter future.  Without an education there is very little chance to succeed in life especially when jobs are not as prevalent as they are in the US.  THANK YOU so much for helping change the life of this family in Africa.

Our new goal kicks off today and that is to educate Dorothy, Miriam’s second child for a year.  Our goal is to sell 258 scarves by the end of August to educate Dorothy for a year.  Purchase a scarf HERE and help to change the life of a family in Africa.

Christopher & Miriam

Dorothy & Miriam (Miriam is wearing a scarf on her head)

Kweri (cheers),

Sean, Founder Woodsmoke