This sector produces a wide diversity of goods, including hand-woven and knitted fabrics, tapestries, screen printed items, jewellery, ornamental candles and glassware.Craft oriented operations comprise a key sector of the economy, producing a diversity of goods for local and export markets while providing employment and generating incomes. Says Nokwazi Mabila, Product Development Executive at STH: “I guess all crafts started many generations ago when our ancestors carved, weaved or moulded whatever utensil they needed.

 

As such, all craft in that time was purely for utilitarian purposes. These skills were passed from one generation to the next through a family apprenticeship system. Materials used must've been natural inputs readily available within those communities.” “Its development however is another story. Trade and intermarriages between communities have played a major role in the exchange of skills and designs.

 

This involved not only its function, but also size and finishes became a priority. I would venture to say that our forefathers at this point had alternatives. So not only function, but form became important.” She goes on to say that the invention of money also meant skills were traded and the client’s wants and needs took priority over historical function.“Today we use these once utilitarian objects as decoration and objects of art. Interestingly enough, in my day-to-day dealings, I'm still confronted by the same question: what takes priority?

 

Our traditions or market demands?” She says that three skills still dominate the crafts industry in Swaziland today: weaving, pottery and carving.In weaving two grasses are normally used; lutindzi (a seasonal mountain grass) and baskets dominate this trade. “Women also weave the most beautiful baskets from sisal fibre,” she adds. Mats in all sizes and baskets for every use are produced. One type of basket work is so closely woven it will store liquids; the basket itself absorbing some of the fluid and keeping the contents cool by evaporation.

 

Also manufactured are wooden sculptures, painstaking soapstone carvings, glassware, mohair, tapestries, imaginative pottery and silk-screened batiks and clothing present an array of colours, textures and designs.Nokwazi says the most buyers are from South Africa regionally and from Germany internationally. Swazi craft is available not only in Swaziland but also South Africa, which is the largest importer of Swazi craft in the region. “We usually ship our merchandise through DHL or inter-freight internationally.”Women dominate the industry with most men carving only (women also carve). “Of note is that most of these crafters are old. There is little skills transfer to the younger generation so it would almost look like a dying skill and this is something we are trying to rectify through training programmes.”

 

Despite this, Swazi crafts are hardly promoted in schools and the only influence that students get is from their mothers and grandparents who still actively work with craft. She is confident though that the industry can one day function independently in its own right.“Personally, I would like to the see the day when the craft sector is no longer a by-product of cultural activity or a value add to tourism attractions, but an economic sector that has a complete production and supply value chain.” She says that unlike in other industries, in the handicraft industry , the crafter - who is at the bottom of the chain - makes the least. “Sometimes by the time that piece reaches the final consumer at a sale price of R500, the crafter will have only made R50 so it would appear that the middle man benefits the most.”

 

She says she’s not sure how other projects are funded but at inception, STH was jointly funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. “We've been partly funded by agencies such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, Technoserve and the United Nations.In terms of proliferation, artists and craftsmen are found in every corner of the country. The road through Ezulwini has, however, become the centre of the Swazi craft industry with numerous outlets and small markets on either side of the road. The Manzini Market and emerging outlets on the road to Siteki and Lavumisa are some of the other venues to choose from.There is much room for expansion in the handcraft sector, particularly for the players in the informal category.

 

As mentioned, these are mainly self-employed women who often possess little business knowledge and are hampered by a lack of contacts. They have to rely on passing trade and tourists who buy from roadside stalls and small shops. Further, due to lack of training, their goods may not meet international market requirements and, in any case, they cannot individually produce sufficient quantities to interest bulk buyers.In addition to the STH, there are other organisations, such as Tintsaba Craft in northern Swaziland, which have taken the initiative by employing rural women who work at home producing items such as traditional baskets.They are supplied with materials, thus eliminating the need to invest their much-needed cash and also receive the training that ensures their produced goods meet international standards.

 

Collectively, these women can craft sufficient quantities to meet the needs of international buyers, with whom their mentors deal. Hopefully, in time, the industry will take its rightful place in the economy with any trace of exploitation eradicated.