Mdukatshani Crafts
The Mdukatshani Craft Group
Wonderfully decorative beadwork and wirework is created by women of the Mdukatshani Craft Group. The crafters live among the hills of Msinga, one of South Africa’s poorest and most arid areas, and until recently the centre of the gun trade in South Africa. A history of extreme violence and the scourge of HIV/Aids and more recently multi-resistance TB had hit the region very hard.
More than 60 women work together in the group as a way of earning an income to feed and clothe their families and participate in the joy and fulfilment of their crafts. Both beadwork and wirework are traditional crafts – the wirework in particular being a link with a decorative tradition that goes back almost 1,000 years. Almost half the crafters are widows, observing their three year mourning period by wearing black, grey or white – the colour denoting their status and setting them apart at social events.
During this time their craft is an expression of their spirit, a hope for happiness. Because the women know that their work will travel far, they send a bit of their hearts with every creation they make. |