Mambo Arts Commune revived

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Staff Writer | Tuesday November 13, 2012 00:00

 

The non-profit entity based in Gaborone struggled to sustain itself and went under. The organisation was formed in 1986 with the aim of developing, understanding, preserving,  protecting and promoting indigenous arts, culture and languages.

The Trust was formed by a collaboration of artists who specialise in poetry, dance, drama and indigenous music. Although its objectives have not changed, MACT will now focus on training, assessing and accreditation of artists and their various crafts. The Trust is now in the process of registering with Botswana Training Authority (BTA) as a training and assessing organisation.

Gaofenngwe Myzer Matlhaku, the director general of MACT, says the core mandate of MACT is to ensure that socially marginalised artiste's  skills and prior learning is officially recognised by providing them with certificates under National Qualifications Framework. Matlhaku explained that individuals will be trained and assessed on their competencies without any emphasis on their academic qualifications:

'We want to give to those individuals who might show certain skills and competencies but have not had any formal training. Take for instance people who are competent in administering traditional medical procedures such as thobega; there aren't many,' he said. Matlhaku said that through the programmes, they hope to produce individuals who will be accepted into the workforce or are able to create their own employment.

Through MAMBO, artists  will also be exposed to entrepreneurial skills and training so as to equip them with the necessary skills to help them market their crafts and manage their finances_: 'We will be using a model commonly known as training with production, where artists get a chance to sell their crafts while at the same time go through training. That way we will be preparing them for life after training,' he said.