Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
HAMBA Labahambayo Group, a women’s collective from Gwanda known for its intricate beadwork, has launched a project aimed at imparting beadwork skills to young women.
The initiative seeks to preserve and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of beadwork while empowering the next generation with valuable artisanal skills including fostering intergenerational relationships and a sense of community through shared cultural activities.
Ms Gean Dube from Paye Village who is a member of the group, said they decided to equip young women with the knowledge and skills as a way of empowering them.
She said they specialise in making handbags, necklaces, earrings, sling bags, keyholders among other products, which they sell within their community and surrounding towns.
Ms Dube said they sell some of their products to tourists. The group comprising 12 women was established in 2018.
“We ventured into beadwork in 2018 as part of efforts to get income to sustain our families. Our group mainly comprises widows. We started off by making simple products such as keyholders and bracelets,” she said.
“We received some training and then we went a step further to introduce sling bags and handbags to our range of products. Some of our clients are tourists while some are locals.”
Ms Dube said they are training five youths as a way of trying to ensure the continuity and preservation of traditional beadwork techniques and designs.
“We have realised that we can’t keep these skills to ourselves and as a result, we have some youths that we have started training.
“We have five young women that we are working with and for now, we are teaching them how to make key holders and bracelets, which are the basics,” she said.
Ms Dube said they plan to train the young women in groups.
“It is important for youths to be equipped with various livelihood skills for the betterment of their lives. We want to provide young women with a potential source of income through the sale of their beadwork creations,” she said.
Another group member, Ms Sibongile Ndlovu, said they also produce cleaning detergents, floor polish, petroleum jelly, foam bath and pine gel.
“As women in rural areas, we mostly rely on various income-generating projects to sustain our families such as gardening, detergent making, beadwork and baking, among others. It’s important that we share this knowledge with the youngsters,” she said.
“The youths have to also utilise this opportunity and they can also use their exposure to ICT to come up with even better and improved products.”
Today, beadwork is commonly practiced by jewellers, hobbyists and contemporary artists. Beadwork is an ancient and fascinating craft that has been practiced by African culture for centuries. It involves using beads to create intricate designs that are not only beautiful but also have cultural and symbolic significance.
Beads were used as a form of currency, religious and cultural symbolism and decoration. The use of beads in Africa dates back to ancient times when they were made from various materials such as shells, bones and stones. — @DubeMatutu
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