Nathi Masuku
IN the intense mid- morning heat, Lilian Moyo takes the road to Lupane business center. She walks from Shabulanyana village to meet with fellow members of the Lupane Women’s Development Trust (LWDT).
Moyo is one of the more than 2 000 members of LWDT who have dedicated their lives to basketry.
These women made a sacrifice, to abandon full time farming and housewife chores, to make a killing from the lush forests in the area. Weaving baskets, mats and other craft is their everyday grind.
While the women learned the art of weaving from an early age, they still had to undergo training in essential business and marketing skills.
They make baskets and other ornaments from the palm plant, known as ilala in isiNdebele. This plant grows in the untapped Lupane woodland well known for its biodiversity that has vast economic benefits.
The weavers thread the water-softened strands and curl them into tough baskets. These are then used to make baskets and other functional crafts.
The art of weaving has since been a beacon to the economic lives of women.
For Moyo and the rest of the members at LWDT, the ilala leaves are a source of life.
“This is our life. We rely on ilala for survival,” said Moyo.
Over the years, the women diversified their craft and saw a market in making functional household ornaments such as lamp holders, mats and coffins out of ilala. Out of these products, the women weavers sell to local and international markets for a good price. Good enough to sustain families and uplift their economic lifestyle.
From crafts sales, the women record an increase every year and the profits.
LWDT manager Hildegard Mufukare in an interview with The Zambezi Times said on average, individual monthly earnings from the sale of wares increased.
“This has been a life changer for all the members at Lupane Women’s Development Trust,” said Mufukare.
“These women are no longer dependent on their husbands for money. They can feed their families and save to buy livestock, pay school fees and remain with extra money to spend.
“Our aim is to make use of our hands, indigenous knowledge systems and time to break the yoke of poverty. By so doing, we are each other to be breadwinners and economically independent.”
Before the Covid-19 outbreak hit, LWDT sold the bulk of its wares to ready markets in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and the US. Mufukare said while their major cash cow has been the European market, they have since found that there is more demand for their products locally.
The LWDT chairperson, Slyvia Nyathi told The Zambezi Times that their strength lay in working as a team.
“We work as a unit. All the women encourage each other to come up with the best grade of baskets,” said Nyathi the chairlady of LWDT.
As the day winds off for Moyo and others, she shares her success story as a weaver.
“My life has changed and I am now able to pay my children’s school fees without asking their father. I have built a modern brick and mortar house for the family.
“Most of us now can afford to serve three meals a day to their families. For one who was unable to put three square meals on the table every day, this is a huge step towards a more wholesome life,” she said.
