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Art & Sculpting
The Matsila Community Development Trust is aiming to reduce the high unemployment rate in the deep rural area and recently created jobs for 75 unemployed people in arts and crafts through its culture and heritage wing.
According to Chief Livhuwani Matsila, the project caters for the visual arts, performing arts and film and production. “The main objective of the visual arts project is to rejuvenate the creative industry in the local community through wood carving. The products are marketed locally and nationally,” he added.
In the performing arts, the trust wants to preserve and promote culture and heritage and traditional dancing is the basic foundation of this project. He added that the aim was to unite people from different cultures.
Regarding the film and production component, “we do documentaries and now they are busy documenting the origin of the Matsila Traditional Authority and its leadership,” he said.
Matsila said that they were grateful towards the National Lottery Board for providing finance for the start-up, the support from the Small Business Development Trust and also the Department of Rural Development. "The South African Forestry Company also promised to build a structure with a workshop, storage and display of the crafts," said Matsila.
One of the sculptors, Richard Raphugela, said the project was going well, but that they needed more tools to do the job. He said that their products were exhibited at events, so that tourists and other buyers could buy them. "I used to regard arts and crafts as the job of the elders, and it was a wrong perception because there are no jobs for a specific age group. I'm paying my children's school fees out of the money I get from this job," said Raphugela.
Prof Pablo Weeiser looks at a clay pot manufactured by Mashudu Maingo.
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Prof Pablo Weeiser and Ms Sylvia Madavhu, photographed at the hertitage, arts and culture wing of the Matsila Community Development Project.
By: Kaizer Nengovhela
Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.
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