Africa Ignite - A Call To Arms On Rural Craft Development
Their mission - to provide a launching pad for local Zulu artists and crafters
, bringing a much-needed financial boost to some of the poorest rural areas in South Africa.
To this end they have introduced the concept of Wowzulu, a Tourist Marketplace & Craft Shop where talented artists and crafters from outlying rural areas come together to produce and sell their work, with an exciting range of the traditional, new and innovative on display.
There are four Wowzulu Tourist Marketplaces and Craft shops in existence to date with more to follow, including crossing the Kwa-Zulu Natal border into other provinces, eventually extending to cover the entire country.
These craft shops and marketplaces have been located geographically to coincide with areas that have a high tourist trade passing through.
Wowzulu King Shaka International Airport, at the entrance to the Zulu Kingdom, caters to tourists from all over the world passing through its gates daily.
Wowzulu Lake Eland, Oribi Gorge, a popular destination on the South Coast, supported by international and local tourists.
Wowzulu, Isandlwana, Northern Kwa-Zulu, where the Battlefields of yesteryear continue to fascinate historians from near and far.
Wowzulu on the R22, Phelandaba near the Mozambique border, where tourist traffic flows through to and from Mozambique.
Each of these eye-catching Tourist Marketplaces and Craft Shops,
Rural Craft Development, offer a wide selection of local arts and crafts and a place for the crafters to work and to be seen working at their craft. Interested visitors are able to interact and learn the techniques for themselves.
As Africa!Ignite, we believe in Africa. Our vision is of a self-reliant Africa, alight with energy and innovation. Our quest is to remove the obstacles that prevent Africas people from reaching their full potential, so that they can ignite the energy, the creativity and the economic power of this glorious continent.
Africa!Ignite was established in 2004 by MiET Africa, an education development NGO based in South Africa, which works across the South African Development Community (SADC) region. MiET Africa formed Africa!Ignite partly to help sustain MiET Africas rural and community development work and partly to pursue synergistic areas of work. MiET Africa and Africa!Ignite function as mutually supportive sister organisations, with MiET Africa focusing more on formal education and Africa!Ignite more on rural development.
Africa!Ignite is a dynamic, evolving entity in the South African not-for-profit sector. We have a strong rural development track record: since our inception in 2005 we have paid over more than R14 million directly to rural entrepreneurs.
Our business model incorporates three strategic business units: donor-funded projects, trading and consultancy services.
Funders support Africa!Ignites overall enterprise development efforts or contribute to project-based initiatives that showcase communities stories, role models and good practice.
Africa!Ignite actively trades in craft, publishing and warehousing and distribution and offers marketing and facilitation consultancy services to the non-profit, small-business and government sectors.
Any operating surplus supports our development work and the capacity-building of our network of rural distribution contractors, crafters, researchers and correspondents.
by: Sean Byant
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