03 May 2018

Kgosi Sechele I Museum in Molepolole recently held a two-day workshop to up skill Kweneng handicraft producers on making arts and crafts a business which they can use to stain their lives.

Speaking at the workshop sponsored by Companies and Intellectual Property Authority, the museum curator, Power Kawina said the aim was to sensitise artists about the programme provided by Kgosi Sechele I Museum which helped promote services and products provided by Kweneng arts and crafts artistes

He said they had realised that most of Kweneng arts and crafts artists did not take their work seriously as production was not continual.

He pointed out that most of the artists did production only on request.

He further said most of the artists were faced with different challenges which hindered them from prospering as they did not perceive arts and crafts as a business. 

He also said they lacked marketing skills, something he noted was not good for business.

The museum curator said Kgosi Sechele I museum was available to support artists by sensitising them on the importance of arts and crafts, citing that this kind of work could take the district to another level.

He further said they invited different entities like Botswana Qualifications, Local Enterprise Authority, Copyright Society of Botswana and an independent facilitator to share with the artists anything in line with their craft.

Kawina said the workshop was attend by 40 artists from the Kweneng district who specialised in among others woodwork, beadwork, textile, painting and pottery.

He urged them to form an association saying this could help improve their work. He also advised them to advocate for the arts council which would help address their challenges.

Still at the workshop, an independent facilitator, Onica Lekuntwane emphasised the importance of self-branding and marketing in attracting clients.

She said having a logo for business would help make artists to be identified easily by clients, adding that having a trademark also helped protect their products.

She advised artists to know their clients because that would help them know the kind of products they could produce as well as seeking feedback from clients on how they perceive the quality of their products.

“Making your clients aware of your products can take you to the next level as an artist and make them understand you better,” she said.

She further encouraged them to always know their competitors, thereby giving them room to know about their weakness, opportunities, and threats to improve the quality of their products.

Lekuntwane said most of the artists used indigenous knowledge to craft their work, emphasising the importance for artists to pass the knowledge to the next generation so that their wisdom could continue in the coming years.

One of the participants, Ephraim Mongwato who specialises in tapestry said he started in 2013 while in 2017 he decided to take his craft to another level after realising that people recognised his talent.

He said from the workshop he learnt how he could use his talent to make a living, as well as learning about the different organisations which could help him. ENDS