Boepens Bag

Back in 2018 we had to step back into the world after almost 5 months spent in an isolation room. The stem cell transplant had saved my life, but the after effects still gripped my body and mind. Through this interesting chapter we had lost our livelihood and had to regain an income whilst in recovery. As I was feeling worse for wear, Jolandie came up with an idea that would sustain us through the challenging times like Covid, building Betsy, and then finally on the world’s first inter-continental stem cell donor recruitment drive! With FA bringing uncertainty, us wanting to self-build our home-on-wheels and the possibility of us needing to work from a small space, we explored our creativity in coming up with hand-made products that we could make and sell at markets and at a later stage on the road. Our first – the “a little wild” jewellery range was made using a bamboo frame and pressed and preserved flowers from hiking trails. This special item lost its value when Covid struck and clients were focused on only buying essential goods and useful items. Jolandie took up sewing and we evolved our concept, added other everyday items that were sustainable and reusable – such as reusable dish/bowl covers. We’ve had many “epiphanies”, but the latest would mean combining our skillsets, product and lifestyle into one single item. The BOEPENS BAG.

A manageable sized handmade bag, that can be used in almost every scenario, is made from Hemp fabric, carefully selected and custom printed 100% cotton, quality YKK zips. It will also be possible at a later stage to find the supplies needed to make these throughout most of the 64 countries, well hopefully! Made on the road, in Betsy, with one goal in mind – sustaining the Matches on the Map project and enabling us to keep on signing up possible life savers and creating awareness about the importance of signing up as a stem cell donor. These bags will provide us with our main source of income in South Africa.