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The talented craftswomen and their works

Lovemore Meya Arts Correspondent
The weavers who mostly have a basic primary education and had never been to other parts of the country outside their home area said they are grateful to the exhibition organisers for the exposure and opportunity to broaden their professional horizons.

A group of 12 Chilelema Village women from Binga who are in basket-making hope the ongoing Ilala Basketry Exhibition at the National Gallery will be the turning point for them to start garnering material benefits out of their exquisite artistry.

“We are happy to be in Harare for our debut exhibition at the gallery. The most important thing that we are looking forward to is having a market for our products” said the group spokesperson Mrs Nellie Mwiinde on the sidelines of the exhibition.

“This will help us go a long way in doing our projects since we have no market in Binga. We also need a warehouse to store our finished products,” she said.

The Ilala Basketry Exhibition opened at the National Gallery yesterday and runs until October 8. A booklet titled “Ilala Chilelema Village Basketry: Binga” and available at the exhibition profiles 11 of the 12 weavers alongside images of some of their works.

Besides Mwiinde, the other weavers profiled are Mary Muleya, Loretta Mbwebwe, Theresa Munenge, Sibongile Munenge, Sibongile Muleya, Rebecca Mukombwe, Julia Munenge, Jane Munenge, Grace Mudenda and Elizabeth Munenge.

The poignant portraits capture the pathos of the women’s situation, their indomitable spirits and their dreams:

“Theresa Munenge only reached Grade 2. A leg injury which has never been diagnosed prevented her from going further in school. She is happy she can at least write her name.

“She hopes to be rich one day through the sale of her baskets so she can buy 10 cattle, 20 goats, 15 chickens and wishes to have at least $2 000 saved in a bank account.

“She has realised an average of $20 per month from the sale of her vegetables. She shares her income with her husband and his other wives. Despite her disappointment that the husband spends most of the time drinking beer in the neighbourhood and is only occupied with seasonal agriculture, she displays a wide smile and continues to share how she overcomes domestic violence and poverty in her home.

“She maintains good relations with co-wives which have contributed in maintaining their 11 children in primary school.”

Mrs Mwiinde said in accessing markets the weavers face challenges mostly connected with the physical location of their home area.

The women came from Chilelema Village, which is about 70km from Binga centre in Lubu Ward where they ply their craft at Binga Craft Centre.

“Where we stay, the roads are in bad state and inaccessible, hence it makes our job very difficult. Again there is no public transport to help us move around on a daily basis when conducting our work,” she said.

The women’s work mixes the traditional aspect of art being part of practical objects for everyday and also for purely aesthetic appeal.

Some of the items they make include washing baskets, weaning baskets, traditional Tonga baskets and flat baskets for house decorations.

They take much of their inspiration from the wild life that exists in their area especially the zebra found along the Zambezi. The motif of the zebra’s diamond shaped hoof is recurrent in their works.

“There are some stripped designs on some of our products, they show the Zebra’s stripped body while the diamond ones are its foot.

‘‘We use Ilala palm grass for basket making with decorations made on different colours like brown made after boiling a bark with the leaves mixed with bird plum,” she said.

The weavers who mostly have a basic primary education and had never been to other parts of the country outside their home area said they are grateful to the exhibition organisers for the exposure and opportunity to broaden their professional horizons.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Kunzwana Women’s Association and made possible with funding from the UNDP and Culture Fund Zimbabwe.