Japanese volunteers instill independence in rural Batswana women

Lindiwe Mozola | Thursday May 7, 2015 15:43

Representatives from Gift from Botswana showing some of their products at the Culture Day celebrations at Monarch Customary court in Francistown. Pic Keoagile Bonang

Known as “Gift from Botswana”, an organisation of 25 Japanese volunteers is changing the lives of remote villagers in the Boteti Sub- District.

The volunteers work with the council’s Social and Community Development office to identify talent in the settlements of Xere, Kedia, Mmea and Khwee.

According to one of the volunteers Etsuko Nagayama they have realised that in Botswana, especially in remote areas, many villagers cannot make their living without financial help from the government.

“However, they have a gift of making crafts but there are no opportunities and markets to sell those products.

“So we, ‘Gift from Botswana’, encourage them to make and sell their products,” she said.

Nagayama said the villagers were making handicrafts like bags, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and corsages.

The Japanese said they encourage the villagers to continue making more traditional crafts like baskets, wooden crafts (Kika, Kgamelo, lefetlho) and chairs, among others.

She said they then sell those crafts, not only to locally-based organisations, but also at lodges, hotels and shops around the country. She emphasised that the support they get from both the government and people around the country has been amazing, more so that it is a community-based project.

“People like our items, especially handy crafts decorated with German print, but we need more promotion so that more people will know what we are doing.

“So far, we have three members in Xere who are making handicrafts and 10 people have registered to make traditional crafts, “ said Nagayama.

She emphasised the support they have received from the government in funding the project under the Remote Area Development Programme (RADP).

She added that the private sector also played a key role in the establishment of the project and so far they have managed to secure Senyatsi Safari Camp in Kasane, Moriti-Wa-Selemo in Makgadikgadi Pans and Cut line Investment in Letlhakane as sales points for the crafts.

However, despite the achievements they have so far made, she identified an unstable market as one of the major problems for them.

Even with their challenges, they came up with strategies on how to address such in terms of marketing.

They have a website and a Facebook page to reach out to more people both locally and internationally.

“We also send direct emails to lodges and hotels all over Botswana to find partners. We, as well benchmark on other successful traditional projects to improve our production and business management skills,” she added.

She mentioned that they are also in negotiations with Letlhakane Council about the possibility of having their own shop at Letlhakane/Orapa bus/taxi rank.