The last couple of decades have been difficult for the artists and practitioners of traditional Arts and Crafts. These age old custodians of local culture and heritage have been facing an exodus from their community owing to rising cost of living and falling income from the art and craft they practice. For some arts it has become an existential crisis as not many active artists are left in the practice. A society not familiar with its arts and craft slowly forgets its heritage and culture. The upcoming generations feel disconnected and alienated from their own elders. A healthy community should invest in preserving its culture and take care of the artists showcasing the art and crafts representing the culture. The aim of the initiative is to establish a cultural village to preserve the culture, arts and crafts. The project would focus on involving the community to protect and preserve the local customs, arts and culture of the region. Establishment of the cultural village shall also help in preserving, promoting and marketing the local arts, crafts and culture of the region
Summary
The last couple of decades have been difficult for the artists and practitioners of traditional Arts and Crafts. These age old custodians of local culture and heritage have been facing an exodus from their community owing to rising cost of living and falling income from the art and craft they practice. For some arts it has become an existential crisis as not many active artists are left in the practice. A society not familiar with its arts and craft slowly forgets its heritage and culture. The upcoming generations feel disconnected and alienated from their own elders. A healthy community should invest in preserving its culture and take care of the artists showcasing the art and crafts representing the culture.
The aim of the initiative is to establish a cultural village in Maun to preserve the culture, arts and crafts of Botswana. The project would focus on involving the community to protect and preserve the local customs, arts and culture of the region. Establishment of the cultural village shall also help in preserving, promoting and marketing the local arts, crafts and culture of the region.
Project Context
The last couple of decades have been difficult for the artists and practitioners of traditional Arts and Crafts. These age old custodians of local culture and heritage have been facing an exodus from their community owing to rising cost of living and falling income from the art and craft they practice. For some arts it has become an existential crisis as not many active artists are left in the practice. A society not familiar with its arts and craft slowly forgets its heritage and culture. The upcoming generations feel disconnected and alienated from their own elders. A healthy community should invest in preserving its culture and take care of the artists showcasing the art and crafts representing the culture. Traditional arts and crafts lie at the heart of Botswana’s historical cultural life (Lonely Planet). Botswana boasts of a rich culture and heritage, the Batswana believe in working together and being united. Though there are different categories in the Tswana tribe like the Barolong, Bakwena, Bakgatla, Baphuthing, Bataung and Batshweneng, all of these guided by the tswana culture and way which makes them have similarities. Most people in the region speak Setswana with slight variations. Following are important aspects of the cultural traditions, arts and crafts:
- Basketry- Women in the northern part of Botswana are noted for their skills in basket making. (Wayeyi, Hambukushu, Etsha and Gumare). The Botswana markets are one of the finest in Africa.
- Pottery- The communities of Thamaga are well known for pottery. Modern ceramics are also being produced at small scale in Gabane.
- Weaving- The southern part of Botswana is well known for Oodi weavers. Hand-woven tapestries, carpets, bed covers, jackets and coats are all made from karakul wool.
- Wood Carving- Wood Carving has been used traditionally in the production of the traditional items such as tools, bowls or cups, spoons etc.
- Bonecarving- Bonecarvers in Botswana produce elegant, finely crafted jewellery and small statuettes, which interestingly have the look and feel of real ivory.
- Leatherwork- High quality sandals, bags and cases are made, and marketed in the major towns.
- Jewellery- Jewellery made of beads, ceramics, stones and malachite are produced in several local cottage industries, and sold in urban areas of the country.
- Bushmen Craft- Bushmen produce and sell hunting sets, fire-making sticks, beaded jewellery and belts, leather items and musical instruments.
- Art- There are many local artists who practice various forms of arts.
- Music- Music is an essential part of Botswana culture, and includes popular and folk forms.
- Dance- Dance also holds a very important symbolic role in expressing social values and customs. Dance is practiced during preparation of traditional medicine and ancestor worship. Most communities associate dance as a medium of communication with the spiritual realm.
Though the people in Botswana honour their culture, with the rapid urbanization and exposure to the western culture, they are slowly but surely losing their culture and are adapting to western culture. To ensure that the youth remains associated with their cultural roots and takes pride in their social customs and norms, it is essential to involve them in traditional practices.
A Cultural Village: Establishment of a cultural village can help cope with the challenges that the local artists face and also in preserving local culture and customs of Botswana. Stephen Ephraem describes a cultural village as an area that is designed to portray to visitors how a particular ethnic group lives. It displays all aspects of village life in one place. Another definition of a cultural village states that it is a cultural village is an area which is set aside to depict the lifestyles, activities and artifacts of a particular culture, usually in the format of a living museum.Cultural village is the development of a village to promote local arts and culture by offering an environment and infrastructure that reflects the social culture, norms, customs and traditional architecture and arts and crafts of a region. The culture village promotes both the cultural aspects and improves tourism avenues of a region. During the development of the cultural village various components of tourism, for example: attractions, food and beverage, souvenir, lodging, and other tourist needs are properly planned and executed. For preserving the local arts, culture and the craft of the region, various courses on dance, songs, folk customs and craft techniques are also included in the cultural village. Cultural Villages offer the following advantages:
- Helps in creating cultural identity of a village/region.
- Community takes ownership and develops pride of their rich culture and heritage.
- Can be used as a skill development and training center to train the youth of the village.
- Helps in marketing the sculptures, art and design, and artifacts of the village.
- Helps in promoting performing arts and festivals.
- Attracts tourists in the region and helps in improving the local economy.
- Helps in improvement of local infrastructure of the region like road network, access to electricity etc.
Project Description
The project will help to identify and document the unique culture, art and craft of Maun Botswana region. The project will work towards formation of a dedicated village where local artisans and artists will be housed, trained and showcase their traditional practices. The project will also look into developing more practitioners of these arts so that it can be spread across the region.
Goal and Objectives
Goal: The aim of the initiative is to establish a cultural village in Maun to preserve the culture, arts and crafts of Botswana. The project would focus on involving the community to protect and preserve the local customs, arts and culture of the region. Establishment of the cultural village shall also help in preserving, promoting and marketing the local arts, crafts and culture of the region.
Objective 1. To research and document local crafts, arts and traditional practices in the region.
Objective 2. To build the capacities of 200 local artisans and 10 local institutions to take up the traditional practices as a livelihood alternative.
Objective 3. To establish a cultural village to facilitate learning of arts and culture by the youth and children and also to serve as a tourist attraction.
Project Area: The town of Maun is the third largest in Botswana. It is an eclectic mix of modern buildings and native huts. Maun is the tourism capital of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland. It is also the headquarters of numerous safari and air-charter operations. Although officially still a village, Maun has developed rapidly from a rural frontier town and has spread along the Thamalakane River.
Considering that Maun is a regional hub for materials and tradespeople and also attracts tourists, there is a huge potential to develop a cultural village in Maun to preserve the culture and arts of the region.
Target Group
- Artisans
- Unemployed Youth ( Below the age of 30years)
- Indigenous groups and women
- Key Market Players
Project Activities
Research and Documentation: The first step in the project will be to document and create an inventory of the existing forms of arts, crafts and traditions in the given community. The process of documentation will adopt a multi-pronged approach and will include a combination of various tools and disciplines. Our research team will scour through available literature to get an understanding of the culture and traditional beliefs prevalent in the community. The following steps will be included in the documentation process:
- Preliminary study and secondary research- To develop an understanding of the people, the region and requirements for documentation, our team will conduct secondary research of both published and unpublished literature. We shall review various journals, crafts documents and reports of various government bodies to help us understand the craft and its socio-cultural context.
- Primary Research: Once we have some understanding of the local context, we shall initiate primary research. Following actions will be undertaken as part of primary research:
- Engaging with local institutes to gather detailed information
- Interviews of artisans
- Focus group discussions with buyers, users and intermediaries
- Interviews of local communities
- Observation of local arts and crafts being practiced
- Videography and photography
- Report compilation: Data that has been collected through multiple sources will be analyzed. The report will be synthesized to cover the following aspects:
- Gender roles in arts and crafts
- Family participation in craft
- Changes that have occurred in arts forms over the last 20-30 years
- Availability of raw materials
- External factors that affect the production
- Various traditional practices in the region
- Inventory and classification of arts and crafts: All the known forms of arts, craft and traditions will be classified into different types.
Awareness Raising and Community Mobilization
We will conduct a series of awareness sessions to make the communities aware of the various activities that have been envisaged in the project and the purpose of the project.
- Develop promotional materials: Our team will develop ICT material for creating awareness about the importance of safeguarding and protecting the local customs, arts and crafts of the region.
- Produce and broadcast special community programmes: We will produce and broadcast special community awareness programs to discuss the importance of the customs, culture, arts and crafts, safeguarding mechanisms, and livelihood improvement.
- Organize consultation meetings with the target communities: During the first quarter, we will be conducting a series of community consultations with the target population. Community consultations will also help in identifying community leaders and volunteers to facilitate the project implementation.
- Mobilizing youth: Our team will engage with the youth of the area and make them understand the importance of their rich culture and heritage and shall involve them in preserving their culture.
Establishment of a cultural village: We shall be setting up a cultural village to depict the lifestyles, activities and artifacts of Botswana in Maun. The cultural village will be a live museum where artisans from the five clusters will demonstrate their work and will also train youth to take up local arts and crafts. The following factors will be kept in mind while establishing/developing a cultural village:
- Good accessibility, easy for tourists to visit by using various types of transportation;
- Have interesting objects such as nature, cultural arts, legends, local food;
- The community and the artisans are welcoming to the tourists who come to their village;
- Security in the village is assured;
- Adequate accommodation, telecommunications, and manpower are available;
- The weather is pleasant;
- Related to other tourism objects already known by the public.
- The following tasks will be undertaken to establish the cultural village.
- Discussion with authority for land approval
- Layout of cultural village
- Setting up the village infrastructure
- Strengthening knowledge-sharing and learning processes
- Developing a knowledge-sharing and learning infrastructure
- Fostering partnerships for broader knowledge-sharing and learning
- Organizing cultural events
- Documentary screening of cultural practices and their significance
Capacity Building
Develop training materials in local languages: Training materials for the community will be developed in their local language. The materials will be used to raise awareness and to train community members on the safeguarding processes such as inventorying and documentation of culture.
Identification of key artisans: We will be identifying key artisans who will be leading the project. These artisans will be trained on new technology, designs and other aspects to help them upgrade their skills and be ready to sell the products in international markets.
Formation and orientation of Artisan Clusters: Village meetings will be conducted in the region to form 5 artisan clusters. The following clusters will be established.
- Basketry
- Pottery
- Weaving
- Wood Carving
- Bone Carving
Capacity building of group members of the Artisan Cluster: Once 5 groups are formed, the project team will start the training on group dynamics and various techniques involved in group management. The selected 200 artisans will get training regarding newer designs, skill upgradation, latest color schemes and would be given inputs to improve the quality of finished goods and bring out products that would be of demand in the market. They will also be given basic training on hospitality and ways to interact with the tourists that visit the village.
Improve Visibility of local culture, arts and crafts
To safeguard the culture and promote the local arts and craft we shall be improving the visibility of our artisan cluster and the cultural village. The trained artisans will participate in regional trade fairs and exhibitions in the targeted regions.
Advertisements: Once the artisans are trained and production of skilled products commences, we shall design and publish advertisements in leading print and electronic media.
Product Catalogue: We shall also design, print and distribute catalogues and brochures at leading hotels, travel agencies, and other establishments which are frequented by buyers and tourists alike.
Hosting Website: We shall also host a website to showcase the latest designs and products and details of events conducted in the cultural village.
Conduct Training programs: We shall also conduct short term training courses on various arts forms for the locals in Maun.
Networking and developing market linkages
To ensure that the project is successful and the income of the associated members improves, it is essential that markets are available for the products. We shall be developing linkages with local shops, hotels, curios and malls.
Buyer-Seller Business Meets would also be in the best interest of both the buyer as well as the producers.
Linkages with international brands.
Selling the products through an online medium.
Developing linkages with tour operators.
Liaison with the government department.
Organize multiple cultural events in the village.
Implementation Arrangements
Staff: The project will be implemented by trained and professional staff of our organization. A project team of 7 full time staff will be required for the successful implementation of the project. We shall also recruit consultants and experts for conducting the training workshops and preparation of plans for the cultural village. These will be:
Project Leader (1)
Program Manager (1)
Field Officers (2)
Community Mobilizers (3)
Experts/Consultant (As per requirement)
Linkages: To ensure long term success and sustainability, proper linkages will be developed with government officials, key market players and other relevant stakeholders.
Communication management: All training material (Manuals, Guides), awareness material (brochures, catalogues, posters etc.) will be published in vernacular language. Reporting will be done as per donor requirements. Project progress and other details will be uploaded on our website on a monthly manner.
Monitoring and evaluation: Project will undertake monitoring and evaluation, at all levels as per the M&E plan. Project leader will be responsible for monitoring each and every activity of the project. Senior team members of our organization will also conduct field visits to check that all activities are being completed in a timely manner. Monthly project reports, quarterly reports and final project reports will be compiled regularly so as to provide insight into the project success. External evaluation will be carried out at the end of the project life so as to provide feedback to the community, donors and other agencies about project success.
