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Early Life
Allina Ndebele is a South African female artist who specializes in weaving and crafting. Ndebele was born on December 10th, 1939 in Ekuhlengeni Mission, in the South African Province of Kwazulu-Natal. She was predominantly raised by her mother, as her father worked in Johannesburg.

In 1962, Ndebele accepted an interpreting position for a married Swedish couple traveling and working as occupational therapists. This couple, Peter and Ulla Govenius taught spinning, weaving, drawing and sewing to the local populations. It was here that Ndebele found her creative spirit and learned these new skills.

Training and Education
In 1963, the Evangelical Luthern Church Art and Craft center was established at Mapumulo. Ndebele was the first to enroll in the center and was soon offered a scholarship to the Dals Langed Art School in Dals Langed, Sweden, to train as a weaving teacher.

After her return from the program, Ndebele spent 12 years in Rorke's Drift in her home province of Kwazulu-Natal, devoted to teaching both young and established weavers alike. Her teaching left her no time for her own creative endeavors. So in 1977 she took her children and relocated to her place of birth, near the Black Mfolosi River.

Career & Inspiration
Now able to do weaving of her own, Ndebele constructed her own studio in her father's kraal. With two second-hand looms provided by Rorke's Drift, Ndebele was able to start weaving classes for the local women in addition to working on her own tapestries.

Ndebele was inspired by the Zulu folk-tales that her grandmother would tell her as a child, transferring the images from her mind onto the fabric without the use of preliminary drawings. Ndebele would be required to walk almost 2 kilometers to the nearest river to dye her wool. Due to lack of access to electricity, Ndebele would be forced to work either by daylight, or candlelight.

Recognition
It wasn't until 1985 until she established herself as a recognized independent artist by producing an exhibition that would be shown at the Pretoria Art Museum. The exhibition went on to be shown at Sweden's Orebro Lans Museum in 1987. Since that time, Ndebele has been exhibited as far as Washington D.C. and the Netherlands.

In 2005, Ndebele was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in silver for her contributions to art.