Making crafts marketable

A PAIR of textile design and technology graduates are “paying forward” the skills they learnt at NMMU by sharing them with a group of women crafters in the Komani (formerly Queenstown) area.

Swallows Foundation freelance designers Ziyanda Sigabi and Ziphozihle Rapiya, both 26, are building on the skills of bead workers and weavers who make isiXhosa inspired necklaces, wire animals and grass baskets.

The Siyabalisa Craft Project teaches rural women to adapt their talents to modern markets, broadening their skills and customer base.

Rapiya said they had met amazing crafters, who made items from grass, beads, leather and other material. However, it had been daunting at first for them as young Xhosa-speaking women to tell the older female crafters “what to do”.

“One of our ladies makes beautiful belts but we found she made only one size and the cut was not really straight enough. What we taught her was not really how fast you can get things done and now not only does she do belts, but also accessories such as leather bracelets, necklaces and chokers, bringing her to what is current and in style,” Rapiya said.

Nomathamsanqa Sambu, 42, from Cacadu (formerly known as Lady Frere) for example, had been making Umbhaco (a traditional Xhosa skirt) and iintsimbi (beaded necklaces) for more than a decade, and never thought she would learn a new skill.

“This was the first time I’ve ever felt challenged. I can make you a necklace with my eyes closed but I can honestly say I am grateful to these young ladies because it wasn’t easy listening to people much younger than you,” Sambu said.

Rapiya said “because we wanted to venture out and be creative, we’d create these crazy beautiful sketches but then be stuck on how to construct them. Ziyanda and myself would remember the basics of construction and somehow it would work out.”

Not only did they ask the crafters to refine their techniques, they also challenged them to create new objects from traditional materials. They now produce beaded items such as clocks, sneakers and lamp shades.

The Siyabalisa Craft Project is a programme of the Swallows Foundation South Africa, based at the Athenaeum in Port Elizabeth.

Established in 2009, the Swallows Foundation SA, also known as Isiseko Senkonjane, works as a development agency for all forms of art, culture and heritage while creating a platform for artistic expression.

Swallows Foundation programme manager Bantu Mtshiselwa, based in Komani for this project, said with the help of the Chris Hani Craft Hub, they identified crafters from surrounding areas based on the skills they already had. The aim was to refine these and given them finishing touches.

“We see a lot of beautiful craft work out at places like the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown but even though they may be beautiful, some lack a certain quality finish because some crafters, instead of focusing on quality, focus on quantity,” Mtshiselwa said.

“When we got here, the weavers only made floor mats and we tasked them with creating something other than mats and we came up with clutches and scatter cushions. We also tasked the weaving basket lady to do something other than making baskets and we came up with lamp shades and a chair that she’s currently busy with,” he said.

Mtshiselwa said the idea was to instill a sense of pride in the product as well as provide an income to the crafters, make a profit, receive bigger orders and hopefully employ people and transfer skills.

Komani’s Chris Hani Craft Hub manager Ayanda Gili praised the foundation for its development and training. “We mentor crafters and manage SMMEs based on their various projects and give them positivity as well as share information because some are out in the rural areas and have no access to information and we provide them with such,” Gili said.

In total 11 women and two men were selected to be part of the project and come from various towns in the Chris Hani Municipality that include Tsomo, eLinge, eZibeleni, Whittlesea and Cacadu.

The Siyabalisa Craft Project crafters will have a chance to showcase their work at an exhibition in December at the Athenaeum.

• More info from www.isisekosenkonjane.co.za or follow them on Facebook at The Swallows Foundation SA.