San artist Thamae mobilises her community

The beautiful and fashionable artist says that she started making crafts more than nine years back but back then she did that to mostly sell her products to make a living for herself as an individual and  was not aware that she could turn her talent into business and that is before she met members of Skillshare International who helped change her fortunes.

Arts & Culture had an opportunity to meet this remarkable woman recently at a workshop organised by Conservation International in Kang. The formidable Thamae told Arts & Culture that the purpose of her project is to promote Botswana tourism 'by bringing to the world the extra-ordinary art of the indigenous San people of Botswana'. A special focus of her venture is on handcrafted jewellery and accessories, which are mostly created, using beads made from ostrich egg-shells.