Crafted items made in the Eastern Cape will be soon on the shelves of selected retail outlets in countries as diverse and far afield as Zimbabwe and Germany if the interest expressed at the recent South African International Trade Exhibition, held in Johannesburg, is a true guide.

Belinda Vabaza, manager of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation’s Business Development Services says that the items which caught of the eye of most buyers were indigenous clothing and jewellery.

“Exhibitions such as SAITEX are invaluable because crafters get face-to-face with the buyers of their goods. International buyers are especially critical and crafters are able to learn firsthand what are important to them. The feedback is generally encouraging which leaves our crafters enthused by the possibilities and provides a truly helpful catalyst for improving the standard of crafts and putting our produce on the world map,” says Vabaza.

Crafts together with construction have been identified by the province’s development strategy as major catalysts for poverty alleviation, particularly in rural Eastern Cape.

“The Eastern Cape is about 12 to 18 months behind the sector leader, the Western Cape.

“We’re happy to follow as a close second because it works in our favour. In many cases, we do not have to invent new processes. Instead, we have the opportunity to apply our minds to tailoring them to the unique challenges of our province and look for growth opportunities,” she says.

One of the province’s leading interventions is the establishment of the Eastern Cape Craft Development Agency (ECCDA) which is due to become fully operational next year. This agency will spearhead an integrated approach by the major role players in the crafts sector such as the province’s arts and culture department, the CSIR, Trade Investment South Africa, Create SA and ECDC.

The ECCDA will address some of the critical issues facing the sector such as fragmentation, lack of financial support for new ventures, the sector being “manipulated” by a small group of agents, quality assurance and control, branding, and the lack of a coordinated and cohesive approach to markets and business practices.

Some of the solutions already underway for this sector include the development of product clusters such as the Willowvale bangles and chokers cluster.