BuyAfrica is helping local craftsmen and women to ply their trade over the Internet
Jubie Matlou
Hundreds of rural craftsmen and women who ply their trade of making curios and artefacts in their backyards never thought they would enter the export market and supply the world with South African cultural symbols such as beads, dolls and sculptures.
Fewer thought that they would conduct their business over the Internet. But Marshall McLuhan’s global village is dawning for many rural people.
Once completed, all the crafts are taken to BuyAfrica a Section 21 company that has established a network of retail outlets in major cities around the country.
BuyAfrica’s 14 Christmas Africa outlets serve as exhibition and retail sites. They also take orders from tourists who want to take souvenirs home. Those tourists who want to acquire more African curios can place an order on the Internet.
“I deal with a network of suppliers spread throughout the country. If an Internet order arrives, I just relay the order to the relevant group that deal with it. Christmas Africa get supplies even outside the borders of our country, in Swaziland and Mozambique,” says the organisation’s Chloe Rolfes.
When the Mail & Guardian visited the Christmas Africa outlet in Sandton, a kaleidoscope of indigenous artwork and crafts was on display. These ranged from a couch decorated with imprints of the country’s anti-colonial war heroes such as Shaka, Hintsa, Makana and Mzilikazi, to Xhosa pottery, telephone-wire baskets and cutlery decorated with colourful beads.
The drawcard for the retail outlets for the festive season is the African Christmas tree, made from softdrink cans and decorated with Zulu angels, Ndebele dolls and Zimbabwean angels.
“Its time for people to realise that Christmas in this part of the country is not about snow and Santa Claus riding a reindeer carriage. It is celebrated differently by people who express themselves in different ways. We encourage this,” says Rolfes.
BuyAfrica, a Liberty Foundation project, was launched five years ago to “source, develop, promote and market a range of products made in Southern African countries that combine the image of Africa with international appeal,” says Rolfes.
The project was conceived to deal with shortcomings in the crafts industry such as delivery of orders, marketing, basic business practices and meeting of world market standards.
BuyAfrica operates on a yearly budget of R1-million granted by the Liberty Foundation.
The funding criteria are focused on creating employment and sustainability within a time frame.
Other assistance provided by the foundation includes loans, the provision of office equipment and the facilitating of access to government and corporate networks.
Donald Kuntshana of Alexandra township began his craft trade as a sole operation, but today he employs eight people to deal with the volume of orders he receives from Christmas Africa.
Rolfes also calls on South Africans to support BuyAfrica. “People should now spend their money at home, not somewhere in China.”
Christmas Africa works around three themes for Christmas decorations:
* Township, which focuses on recycled material in neon colours, such as softdrink cans.
* Rural, which makes use of natural materials in earthy colours wood, seeds, grasses and handmade paper and wild fruits such as monkey apples. Wood decorations from Mozambique show the effects of the floods with the toy helicopters symbolising the rescue mission.
* City, which consists of crafted beadwork in different shapes and sizes stars, wire balls and beaded dragonfly napkin rings, for example.
How about a Christmas cake iced to match the Zulu ear disc?