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 Quo Vadis Communications on a field trip to KwaZulu Natal for client, Siyazisiza Trust.

Victoria Makalima, assistant Director for the Johnson and Johnson Burn Treatment Centre (left) and Roger Crawford, Executive Director, Worldwide Government Affairs and Policy for Johnson & Johnson (back right) happily assisted Nurse Ester Manson and clinical officer William Kalua from Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi throughout their two-week specialised training session at the Burn Treatment Centre at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The training took place as a result of a public private partnership between the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johnson & Johnson, and the University of North Carolina in USA. The hospital in Malawi recently opened a burn unit and the hands-on training Ester and William received at the leading burn treatment centre in Africa, will no doubt make a huge difference in the lives of those in need.

Feature article:

Nestled in between two private game reserves at the end of a long and sandy road deep in rural northern Zululand, a group of local entrepreneurial woman are using their creativity to fight unemployment and poverty. They have combined their skills honed over generations with newly-acquired business acumen to do so.

Their workshop is the floor of a lounge in a small house in the Hluhluwe district.

Surrounded by bundles of colourful grasses strewn on woven mats, the ladies of the Vezumnotho Weavers Club deftly use needles that they have made by recycling tips of the ribs of old umbrellas. Expertly they weave several strands of grass into baskets, bowls, medallions and stools.

The women, whose houses are scattered throughout the mountainous area, regularly gather together to collect the materials they need for weaving and to share their skills with others who are eager to learn their craft.

They also take this opportunity to allocate the orders that they have received from Khumbulani Craft, a non profit organisation (NPO) whose purpose is to contribute towards poverty alleviation in KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga through the design, production, marketing and sale of traditional and contemporary craft.

Vezumnotho (meaning develop wealth) was established in 1997 with five members. They had a common aim of earning an income through the sale of the woven items they traditionally made for their homes. Times were harder than they had imagined. They had to rely on the rest of the community to buy their items and to take them to nearby centres where they hoped to find other buyers.

The picture is quite different these days for the group. Having approached Khumbulani Craft for assistance shortly after the NPO began in 1999, Vezumnotho has received mentorship and training in business skills as well as assistance in accessing both national and international markets. As a result of the increase in sales of their products, they have been able to generate enough income to provide food and clothing for their families, and to send their children to school. As more orders come in, additional ladies are brought in to help. The club now has 25 members.

The ladies explain that the improvement in their living standards is attracting youth and other community members to learn the craft and to get involved. Traditional skills are at risk of dying off due to the lack of interest by the young to learn such an “old and unsexy” skill and who are lured to the big cities.

But groups such as this are demonstrating the value that their craft can have and that it is not necessary to flock to the cities in order to provide for one’s family.

Surrounded by strands of vivid blue, bottle green, deep orange and mud-brown Ilala palm strands, their curious children sit and watch how they use the strands of colours and their imagination to painstakingly weave intricate and complicated patterns into beautiful baskets of all shapes and sizes.

Giggling shyly and with eyes sparkling with excitement, they talk to them about the photographs they have seen of their work in magazines and in homes in Europe and America, places they have only read or heard about.

These master craftswomen immerse themselves for weeks in the art of creating patterns to meet the demand for their craft.

Their intimate knowledge of their environment – they know when the Ilala palm is ready to harvest, how to assess the temperature in order to get the right colour and consistency, what leaves, roots and berries are needed in order to produce the spectacular colours they will need for a particular item – is essential.

They know that without this information and their newly-acquired awareness of how to plan effectively in order to meet orders, how to ensure that they are getting the right price for their goods or how to put money back into the business in order to ensure its sustainability, they would not be able to give more women in their community the opportunities that they have.

According to Khumbulani Craft’s Executive Director, Jane Zimmermann, the development of the craft industry not only revives and assists in the survival of old indigenous art forms and techniques, but  is a powerful means of contributing towards income generation in the light of the high rate of unemployment in South Africa, especially in rural areas.  It is estimated that at least 50% of indigenous craft workers live in South Africa’s rural areas.  

“While the empowerment of rural women particularly remains a national priority for South Africa, it will take many years yet to deliver the infrastructure, health services, electricity and education so desperately needed by those so remotely located, many whose daily chores still require walking great distances for wood and queuing for hours to obtain water.

“Many crafters are not yet able to access markets because of their isolation and lack of infrastructure and education.  Khumbulani Craft is assisting them, not only with marketing and skills transfer but also with a number of other interventions including environmental responsibility, product development, transport, monitoring and mentoring.”

Along with their age-old knowledge of weaving, the ladies relish the opportunity to learn new designs. Although not employed by the NPO, they receive training in product development.

This has shifted their mindset as they are not only crafting the traditional designs Zulu weavers are well-known for, but are looking at new creations and patterns that will appeal to different markets.  Their products are collected by Khumbulani’s field staff for cataloguing, packing and distribution to buyers situated worldwide.

Comprehensive Rural Development is one of the key priorities of South Africa’s government. At the launch of the Government’s Rural Development programme in August 2009, President Jacob Zuma stated that various cultural activities such as traditional music, arts and crafts and traditional sports could be useful income generating activities in our rural areas and should be harnessed.

The Vezumnotho Weavers Club is a prime example of how, by recognizing and harnessing the skills of South Africa’s people, and by providing necessary marketing and business skills support - the bleak future facing so many of our rural communities can certainly change.

Last changed: Oct 28 2011 at 3:54 PM