To fight poverty and unemployment in rural communities, a group of people in Tshaulu village, just outside Thohoyandou, have grouped together to form a visual arts co-operative, called the Nyafhasi Visual Arts Alliance, through which they are producing and selling their wood carvings, beadwork, sculptures, ceramics and weaving products.
The group leader, Mr Gerson Nemuelela, said everything started when he was still in primary school in the 1960s. Those years, children had to learn how to work with their hands, producing crafts. "I was good at working with my hands during that time, and my educators used to encourage me," he said.
Nemuelela started carving sculptures out of wood, and made thonga (wooden sticks), mifaro, ngoma (drums), mpfo and peto, which he then sold to members of the local the community. This provided much-needed income, which helped him to provide not only for himself but also for other members of the family as well.
In 2019, a group of artists from the area decided to pool their resources and formed the Nyafhasi Visual Arts Alliance. Initially, it consisted of only seven dedicated artists.
Nemuelela said that the Thulamela Local Municipality supported them and they were also fortunate enough to get assistance from the National Lotteries Commission, who gave them R381 000 in 2019 and another R81 000 in 2021. "This helped us to develop our co-operative when buying tools," explained Nemuelela.
He added that his visual arts co-operative was also assisting young people from Tshaulu village and surrounding communities to develop their visual-art skills.
One of the women doing beadwork for Nyafhasi Visual Art Alliance, Ms Alice Makhanthisa, said that doing beadwork had helped her and other women. Now they can produce an income, instead of just sitting at home waiting for a man to provide food for the family.