Son Of The Soil Not For Profit
Spira Tlhankane | Monday February 17, 2020 12:46
They disclosed this during a media brief recently where they also announced that their next event would be held at Masa Gardens in Rasesa on February 29, 2020.
The chairperson of Bana Ba Mmala, Pontsho Pusoetsile said they have never as a Trust made money out of the event.
“We don’t do this to make money, we even shared our books with our sponsors so that they can know that we are not making a thebe,” he said. Pusoetsile was quick to highlight that they have volunteered so much for the event to grow culture.
“When it comes to SOTS we struggle and can’t make profit. Despite that we are happy because all of our partners are making money from this event,” he said.
He said their partners are in it to make money and therefore they are making profit from culture. Pusoetsile revealed they are proud because there are other events out that are making money out of culture.
“We are pleased because we contributed towards the growth of Setswana culture,” he said. Even though he refrained from revealing the exact sponsorship value from Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO), Pusoetsile said the latter has pumped in a lot of money into this event through marketing amongst others. “This is a valuable sponsorship and we are grateful as Bana Ba Mmala,” he said.
Pusoetsile also said they have been using SOTS to shape cultural visuals. “When we started this event, we emphasised Setswana attire and there was a little bit of resistant at first.
Now, we have other similar events doing the same thing and we are very proud,” he added. Pusoetsile said SOTS is the template that other events should follow when it comes to packaging cultural tourism.
The event is held under the theme kwa re go yang re belegwe will highlight the contribution of women in the nation.
“We recognize women’s contribution to culture and it is the same culture that will take us to where we want to be,” he said. He said it was high time the world valued women leadership.