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Women, Basketry and Africa
Background
Ingcebethu [meaning basket in the local language] is a basket weaving collaboration between
Lubabe Women's Centre (LWC) in South Western Zimbabwe and several successful Danish designers.
LWC is a well-established hub for its 3700 female members, of which 400 are active weavers.
These weavers generate 3/4 of the centre's revenue, which is crucial for the survival of
these women and their families.
LWC approached The New Basket Workshop (TNBW), an NGO from South Africa, dealing with basketry
projects in southern Africa, to find designers from the West, which could help create a new
production line at the centre.
TNBW established the contact to Anne Lynggaard and Eva Seidenfaden from Baskets4life in Denmark
who has run numerous similar projects and collaborations in other parts of Africa.
The reasons for introducing new western basketry techniques are twofold: firstly the baskets
represent the best source of income for the women relative to other crafts and secondly the
aim is to contribute to the revitalization of this ancient craft.
The women associated with the centre live in mud huts and can in good times receive a salary
of $1 a day.
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Tjintjana Samples 2015
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Ingcebethu, Zimbabwe, 2014
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The Project
This project will introduce techniques and baskets, which can lead to a higher daily rate.
The program contains 2 x 2 weeks of classes at the centre in Lupane for 50 selected women.
These women will then be tasked to teach what they've learned to the other members. The
centre houses 400 basket makers who will benefit from the project.
The project will positively impact the living conditions of more than 2,000 people.
The long-term potential is immense.
The program includes a follow up visit to Denmark with selected weavers from the centre.
The goal is to create contact to new markets and establish dialogue and exchanges with
several Danish basket makers, so the inspiration goes both ways.
At the final phase of the project, when the products reach the high quality needed to
maintain a stable market, the women's centre's director and sales manager are invited to
participate in Formland Fair in Herning DK with a stand to represent the Centre's products
and thus make further contact with new potential Nordic partners.
Funding and support
The project is supported by the Centre for Culture and Development , Rotary and private
foundations. Rotary Bulawayo in Zimbabwe has agreed to host the project, which means that
we have additional support in the local area.
An initial exploratory workshop conducted by Eva and Ane took place in Lupane in October,
2013, financed by Lupane Women's Centre.
Please see link to the introductory workshop: http://youtu.be/BuHzdgH-eLE.
See the latest photos from the dairy.
The project is now ended
The project Ingcebethukurv is now ended.
The series of baskets, we have introduced, are called Tjintjana meaning exchange in the Nderbele language.
The last meeting took place in Denmark September 2015 for 2 weeks. where 7 women from Lupane in Zimbabwe and Frances Potter from South Africa visited Danish basketmakers and potential outlets
The baskets can be ordered directly from Lupane Womens' Centre by contacting Kyaya at khayandlovu2@yahoo.com.
The baskets are sold in Denmark at Moesgaard Museum, Århus, Trankebar i Borgergade Kbh, and at "Fru Skov" i Brædstrup.
The documentation of the last workshop and the visit in Denmark you can enjoy here:
Workshop, April 2015, Zimbabwe.
LWC visit to Denmark, 2015.
The weavers from LWC teaching Danish weavers at Vissinggaard.
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