adminDumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
PRODUCERS of ceramic and refractory products in the Gwayi area of Lupane District in Matabeleland North Province are failing to realise meaningful returns from their venture owing to lack of a viable market and prevailing liquidity constraints in the country.
Thirty village potters that craft their wares at the now defunct Keranos Earthenware Pottery and sell their products on the roadside of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway said they were struggling to effectively market their clay artefacts, a situation that has negatively impacted on their livelihood since it was the only source of income generation for most of them.
Keranos Earthenware Pottery started operations in 1987 and stopped production in 1996 only for operations to be revived in 2001 with full production being attained in 2003 by former employees that formed two entities namely Gwayi River Pottery and Mabale Pottery with the latter folding up in 2008.
The operational Gwayi River Pottery owners are now hiring out their machinery to the 30 potters at a nominal fee while the clay is mined within the confines of Gwayi.
One of the potters, Mr Thembelani Mathe said failure to access viable markets and the liquidity challenges prevailing in the country had contributed to low business.
“Business is very low these days, over the years we used to rely mostly on tourists going to or those coming from Victoria Falls or Hwange National Park as well as surrounding safari areas but nowadays the number of those travelling by road has drastically decreased.
“We are therefore looking for a viable market where we can send our wares in bulk. The other problem we are faced with is that the spending of people in general is at its lowest largely because of the downturn of the economy.
Nowadays it’s not surprising to go for two weeks without selling anything,” Mr Mathe said.
Another potter Mrs Barbra Masuku said business has been at its lowest ebb over the last two years with most of them hardly affording to raise $100 from their monthly sales.
“I started this trade in 2003 and by then it was very lucrative even though we were using the local currency and it continued on a high when we started using multiple currencies and it was at that time that we started acquiring assets such as livestock and other things.
“I have managed to send my children to school using the money I realised from selling my wares. However, over the last two years things have been difficult as I go close to a week without selling anything,” she said.
The potters produce earthenware vases of various shapes and resemblances, drive way tiles, pavers and bricks using five kilns.
One of the directors of Gwayi River Pottery, Mr Austin Mpofu said most of the machinery that was used was now archaic and there was a need to replace it with modern technology so as to improve its efficiency and enhance production in the process.
“Most of our machinery is now old and it constantly experiences breakdowns thus there is a need to replace it with the modern one. For instance the milling equipment we are using is very old and we can do better with a ballmill, which is more efficient, suppresses dust and ensures that the clay particles come out finer. We need about $10 000 for recapitalisation,” Mr Mpofu said.
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Various industries and trades use kilns to harden objects made from clay into pottery, tiles and bricks.
Another ceramic and refractory producer, Dete Industrial Ceramics is situated about 40 kilometres from Gwayi. Dete Industrial Ceramics is a subsidiary of the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) and started operating in 1989. The company used to be a major supplier of refractory or fire bricks.
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