Shorobe weavers aim at sustainable use of natural resources

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Friday December 10, 2010 00:00

The weavers of Shorobe have learnt ways of using natural resources in a sustained fashion and each batch of baskets sold sponsors the purchase of a batch of seedlings of both palm and dye trees for the plantation (where these important trees are conserved) in the village.  The cooperative comprises of 31 women and four men who are craftspeople, mostly weavers and carvers.  All the members of the cooperative are trained in marketing, governance and bio-diversity conservation by the Biokavango Project with the help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Botswana government and the GEF (Global Environment Facility).

The Biokavango Project, which is sadly coming to a close, recently took Arts & Culture for a tour of the renovated Shorobe Basketry Cooperative curio shop and plantation.  Like all craftspeople of the area, the skill of weaving baskets and carving has been passed on from generation to generation.  Shorobe baskets are beauties to behold and the geometric shapes that have been woven on the basket are simply breathtaking. From time immemorial, the indigenous people have been using these God-given skills and resources to sustain themselves.  The catchy geometric shapes have been given names such as phatla ya pitse (the horse's forehead), peolane (swallow), lebelo la ntshe (ostrich's running speed), maru (cloud), teemane (diamond), keledi ya thutlwa (giraffe's tear) and terena (train).  All these shapes capture scenes from around the Okavango and other parts of Botswana and might determine the cost of an item.  After completion, every item is duly graded and priced according to the quality of the work done.

According to weavers, Abedile Manja and Doris Mbire, it takes years of learning to be able to master the art of weaving a traditional basket.  As if that is not enough, it can take three weeks or even a month to complete one item even if one works on a given piece on a daily basis.  According to Mbire, the cooperative has improved the livelihood of the craftspeople of Shorobe.  'This project has taken us out of poverty.  We are now able to support our families and send our children to school with the money that we earn by selling our products to tourists,' said Mbire in an interview.  Although she said she was happy that her life has improved as an individual, she has since realised that the downside to her job is that it takes a long time to complete an item and thus her work demands diligence and dedication.  Mbire said most craftspeople in the area supplement their meagre salaries by farming, which is also widely practised in the area.  The young woman is new in the weaving business and hopes to produce high quality baskets like elder women in the village.  She believes that with determination it is attainable.

On the other hand, Manja, who is an elderly woman with many years of experience in weaving, explained that weaving a single basket can take up to a month.  She said that she was happy to be part of SMCS because she is able to support her family with her earnings.  The deputy chairman of the cooperative, Iketeng Rakgopa concurred with Mbire and Manja that SMCS has improved the livelihood of the people of the village.

He said that he was grateful for the initiative that Biokavango took to help revive their cooperative by renovating the curio shop, which had been abandoned, and beefing up its security.  They also helped purchase stock from members of the community and now the shop is back on its feet.   The shop has a wonderful display of works, which are produced by the members of the cooperative who are mostly women.  All the products in the shop are made from natural materials found in the area and with the assistance of the Biokavango, they have taken an initiative to make sure the materials do not get depleted by starting a plantation where they grow palm trees (mokolwane) and motsentsele (from which they get the natural dye for the products).

'Things have greatly improved here ever since we partnered with Biokavango because they have assisted us with the restoration of our curio shop and they also improved the security around the shop,' explained Rakgopa. He also said that Biokavango has taught their community the importance of conservation and currently, they, as the members of the cooperative, have taken an initiative to preach the message to the people of Shorobe.  He said that they as weavers make sure that whenever they harvest leaves from palm trees they do not harm the trees as they just take only what they need.  He asserted that they do the same when they get barks from the motsentsele trees that they use to decorate the baskets.

'Biokavango has shown us sustainable ways of exploiting our natural resources and therefore we just harvest what we need and give our trees time to fully recover,' he said.  Rakgopa further said that he was worried about some villagers who tap palm wines from palm trees because the way they do it leaves the tree dead.  He said that they have taken an initiative to teach them ways of tapping the wine without harming palm tree.

Motsema or traditional palm wine is popular in Shorobe and some villagers sell the wine to earn a living.  Although at first the wine-makers and the weavers were at loggerheads over the use of the palm trees, they were able to reach a consensus on the issue with the intervention of Biokavango.

Like most of the people in the area, Rakgopa was upset that the Biokavango Project is coming to a close, meaning that they would not be getting further help from them.  He pleaded for their continued involvement in the project.