When Jenny Thorne began her job as both a nurse and teacher in Swaziland, the rewards of altruism only whetted her spirit for more. After marrying a farm manager in Milkerns, she took the initiative and established a cooperative to empower the local women. Thorne set up a workshop on her family’s land, where she invited a small group of weavers to handcraft items like coasters and placemats from sustainably harvested Lutindzi.
To keep her artisans working, she also founded Gone Rural, a development organization that aids these women in areas of design, marketing and leadership. Though her work impacted a thousand families, Thorne still felt compelled to do more. Because a high percentage of the Swazi population suffers from HIV, she funded an AIDS awareness program and lent support to the orphans left behind from this pandemic. Products made in her workshop can be found at Gone Rural.