Episode 1 : Stitching Lesotho into the Global Economy
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How did a tiny, landlocked country become one of Africa's largest garment exporters—and why is that success now under threat?
In this episode of Behind the Story, journalist Lerato Matheka takes us behind the reporting of her deeply human story about Lesotho's textile industry. Speaking to host, Bird Publisher Paula Fray, she explains how a seemingly technical subject—trade policy and industrialisation—became a story about people: the thousands of women whose lives were transformed by factory work, the government officials who quietly built one of Africa's most effective investment systems, and the workers now facing uncertainty as global markets shift.
Lerato shares how she gained the trust of former ministers, factory workers and trade union leaders, why she chose to tell the story through personal experiences rather than economics alone, and what surprised her most during her reporting.
It's a conversation about journalism, development, and the hidden stories behind the clothes we wear—and a reminder that behind every export statistic are lives stitched into the global economy.
In this episode of Behind the Story, journalist Lerato Matheka takes us behind the reporting of her deeply human story about Lesotho's textile industry. Speaking to host, Bird Publisher Paula Fray, she explains how a seemingly technical subject—trade policy and industrialisation—became a story about people: the thousands of women whose lives were transformed by factory work, the government officials who quietly built one of Africa's most effective investment systems, and the workers now facing uncertainty as global markets shift.
Lerato shares how she gained the trust of former ministers, factory workers and trade union leaders, why she chose to tell the story through personal experiences rather than economics alone, and what surprised her most during her reporting.
It's a conversation about journalism, development, and the hidden stories behind the clothes we wear—and a reminder that behind every export statistic are lives stitched into the global economy.