Talking Musika

Rampholo Molefe | Monday November 15, 2010 00:00

In Thursday's Mmegi, Sandy Grant makes an invaluable contribution to the small discussion I had in last week's Monitor about the fate of Odi Weavers.

Firstly, it could not go without notice that whereas the spelling of the name was generally presented as Oodi, he points out that it is in fact Odi.  That also explains why Otse is not Ootse or Ootsi as the sign boards used to say. 

That should also help to establish that Gantsi is not Ghanzi, as the European settlers would have had it.  Only one gripe: 'The basket weavers in the north have survived because they can produce without being institutionalised, they are not dependent on machinery or equipment, which needs to be maintained, they do not need electricity or water or to be provided with shelter and they have no need to pay for marketing or management'!

The basket weavers in the north are barely surviving.  In the few trips that I have made to Maun and Kasane in the last five years I have seen a few weavers sitting in the shade under tress in the sweltering heat, racing to finish the a basket which, they hoped, they could sell to the passing tourist, or anybody who was willing to pay anything.  Basket making is not regular work.  It supplements household income, only a fraction of it.  They are not dependent on machinery.  They are dependent on their legs, which must carry them to the harvesting sites of the reed that is required to weave the basket when the rivers are flowing.  The rivers should not flood and destroy the reed, or drive it to a different place.  There is a general complaint about scarcity of the reed that is most suitable for weaving.  In drought years, the weavers pray that there should be rainfall in Angola that brings water to the Delta where the reed will be found.  Otherwise, there will be no basket weaving.  Of course there is no machinery because it has no place in basket weaving of the type that is done in the 'north', although there could be a debate about the intrinsic value of a basket that is produced for mass consumption by weaving machines. 

There will be no need for management because the weaver produces only a few baskets a year in order to supplement household income in the same way as the peasants practice subsistence farming, not to sell abroad, but only to eat.

They do not need electricity or water because for a long time there was none, and no need to light up the warehouse so that potential buyers could see what was in stock.  And even if electricity was available in the north, the weavers might not afford it.  The weavers might very well need water if they continue to rely on unreliable rivers to water the reed that they require.  There have been suggestions also, that Botswana should find a way of planting mukwa trees to replenish the forests in the north in order to make furniture and drums.

The basket weavers have relied on organisations such as Botswanacraft Marketing to harvest their produce for marketing in the cities and overseas.  That requires trucks and fuel to travel from shade to shade in search of the marketable baskets.  The trucks and the fuel stations need maintenance that somebody has to pay for, most likely, the basket weaver.

The most profitable market for the baskets was in Gaborone and the most elegant boutiques of the Western capitals like Washington, Tokyo and London.  It took the National Museum and Art Gallery, Botswanacraft and years of organisation to establish collection points and travelling routes for the middlemen who made the basket industry worthwhile.  The National Museum had competitions, which have now become part of the President's Day cultural events.  I am informed that Odi Weavers were connected to international markets through a website on the Internet, and also through the links that Peder Gowenius had in Sweden.  The marketing strategy was to produce in Botswana at low cost, and to sell in Sweden, America and Japan in dollar terms, perhaps selling in Botswana only to pay for costs.  The strategy was successful until the communication lines were broken between Odi and the international markets.  Lately though, the basket weavers are also patenting their work, which required an office and some administrative work.  That means that the weavers can demand compensation for duplication of their work even if it happens in Europe or the Americas.  The point must be made that making a livelihood out of any kind of weaving, or the arts in general, requires connectivity to the global markets, especially that Botswana has a population of less that two million, only one-twentieth of which can afford to buy a basket or rug to adorn their tables or walls.

Botswana has had failed cooperatives, no doubt.  The point of last weeks, Talking Musika, was first to agitate for discussion among the practitioners about how best to make effective use of the meagre resources available to them.  The cooperative - one that is properly managed administratively and financially - appears to be a viable option that will bring production and trade unionism closer together. This seemed to work at Rankoromane, at the Gabane pottery enterprise and at Lentswe-la-Odi. 

The Dutch have a system of 'motshelo', which, Sandy and I will agree, is a primitive sort of cooperative.  They have a name for it, which I can't just recall now.  The musician who cannot afford fees for his accompanists calls them to the studio and makes the undertaking that he will not pay.  Instead, he will also make a contribution when the others make their records.  No cash exchanges hands between the musicians for the recording.  If a well-developed country like the Netherlands can practise 'motshelo', why not the Batswana?