Film-maker, social impact producer and fashion enthusiast, Sheila Kimathi chats with The Nairobian Fashion expert, augah Nato about celebrating curvy women.
Who is Sheila and what inspired ProjectHuru™?
Sheila Kimathi is a film maker, Social Impact Producer and a fashion enthusiast. I am also the founder of ProjectHuru™ a flagship program that seeks to find participants willing to unlock their full potential, relearn healthy forms of self-expression, and deconstruct preconceived views of themselves.
I grew up as an active chubby kid and people around me almost always made fun of my weight. The images and the portrayal of the “Plus size” individuals in the media back then was disheartening. I chose to beat the stereotype and made sure I excelled in all the areas fat people were barely seen in.
Fast forward to adulthood. I started working at an agency but deep down I always knew I wanted to do something of my own. Working at an agency was draining and exhausting and eventually I lost my job.
I knew I wanted to start a franchise for Plus size women, and started a franchise called Curvyme that sold Swim suits and cover-ups to the Plus size woman. I put all my savings in this business but that failed miserably because Plus size women just do not wear swimsuits! This was a hard lesson.
I soon realized that we must deconstruct the preconceived views, attitudes and mindset regarding the reality of being a plus size woman in our world today.
As I was gathering myself in my failure, I was invited to film “The Girl in the Yellow Jumper” in Uganda, and I met a lovely lady called Robinnah Nansubugah, an Art curator and exhibitionist. She challenged me to create art based on women for women by women.
I decided to take a different approach. How about instead of approaching them from the outside in, I approach them from the inside out. Instead of rushing to fix the aesthetics, why not try empower each other and show the world how much potential is harboured?
It took me a year to come up with ProjectHuru™ Needless to say I missed the exhibition. ProjectHuru™ is a self-healing program that is solely inspired by the African Plus Size Woman and seeks to accentuate her beauty, recognize her femininity and celebrate her true identity through therapy, fashion, film and photography.
This initiative is geared towards exploring, empowering, and embracing all aspects of the plus size woman, celebrating her femininity by capturing her journey of rediscovery of self by filming a documentary focused on her physical, emotional, spiritual and mental transformation.
What has been the highlight of projectHuru?
Before ProjectHuru™, there was Curvyme, a failed swimsuit franchise way back in 2017. And from that whole experience one of my Models called @pluswangaprincess – Sarah Mukabana stuck by my side. She was willing to walk with me even after the failed venture.
I approached her with the ProjectHuru™ idea and RUHCUS program manifesto and she has walked with me ever since.
The RUHCUS program designed by Sonya Renee Taylor is designed to help us identify and begin to untangle the narratives of shame, victimization, powerlessness, and bondage that manifest in our lives.
It seeks to engage humans on a global scale in introspection, community building, and collective healing. Whatever issue one may seek to explore through a RUHCUS project, the endeavor is designed to open the possibility of healing by helping you to take audacious, courageous steps.
She helped me scout and meet Season 1 Candidates. Remember ProjectHuru™ is an intense year long program of radical and unapologetic healing. This meant I needed to squeeze this program into grown women’s lives and we had to make it work. These are grown independent women with different mindsets and backgrounds that need to actively engage and finish a very intense course while at the same time living their own lives.
Ever since I took on this journey I have been self-funded. In 2020 we were forced to take a break due to financial constraints and Covid-19 therefore the program ended up taking about 2years.
But the biggest highlight of them all was premiering the documentaries of these three beautiful women, revealing their journey of transcendence to the world in March 2021 and starting Season 2 in the same year. A dream I had way back in 2017.
Do you the term ‘plus size ‘reflects a positive?
The term plus size seems to imply that there's a normal or ideal size and that anything over it is an unnecessary and/or undesirable extra, for instance.
"Fat" is just flesh and it's an adequate term to describe our wobblier regions. Somewhere along the way, the word became an insult. It became associated with things like laziness, greed, and carelessness.
Maybe if we really want size inclusivity to become the norm, both in fashion and in day-to-day life, then perhaps we have to do away with terms like straight-size and plus-size altogether and just accept and celebrate each other bodies as they are. I think the main way to achieve this is to begin seeing women of all sizes in our mainstream media.
How do you promote positive body image?
I seek to create beautiful images of plus size women. We are beautiful, curvaceous African women and we need to own who we are. Our society requires a drastic political, economic, and social reformation in the ways in which we deal with bodies and body difference. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. Sonya Renee Taylor says the body is not an apology
How do you maintain a healthy lifestyle?
Sports. When I can afford it I go to the local gym or work out at home. I also love dancing and I am trying to get back to it. Also working in film entails walking long distances while carrying heavy equipment, working long hours which count as workouts for me.
Any advice for young women interested on ProjectHuru?
They must from within seek to live outside “the box”, break through the barriers that hold them back as they seek rediscovery and transcendence. They must be willing to face Issues such as distress, shame, or negative beliefs about a specific portion of one’s body or the physical self as a whole.
Through the RUHCUS program we will be untangling: The narratives of shame, victim, powerlessness, and bondage that manifest in our lives. This includes Spiritual trauma, pain and fear. Healing is not easy, you must be able to roll with the punches till the end of the program. And finally keep an open mind and prepare for the ride of your life!
