THE FIRST ROUND OF REGIONAL CRAFT SECTOR
MEETINGS HAVE BEEN HELD!
Crafters and government officials of supporting
organisations gathered in Citrusdal, Beaufort West and
George respectively. The George meeting also included
craft retailers and craft trainers. Marjorie Naidoo,
manager of Communications for CCDI, shared about the
growth of the Cape Town Craft Sector meeting over the
past 5 years; how it grew from just a small handful, to
now being regular gatherings of an average of 70 people;
she shared about the various topics that had been
covered over the years, which had addressed issues such
as product development, how to build and run a business,
how to define, understand and reach markets, the
government assistance available on various levels, and,
most important of all, hearing from crafters themselves
about the lessons they had learnt and the progress they
had made. According to a survey done among the Cape
Town crafters, the Craft Sector meetings have become one
of their most vibrant networking platforms, drawing them
out of the isolation of working at home alone.
Crafters shared their expectations and needs of the
regional meetings with Rural Outreach Officer, Lyndon
Metembo; this will be taken into account in structuring the
regional craft sector meetings, which will inevitably take
on their own character. As the regions cover a number
of towns, and transport is the real challenge for many
crafters, the venue will shift from town to town.
.
A group of enthusiastic crafters and government officials gathered
for the first West Coast craft sector meeting in Citrusdal. Crafters
came from as far as Lamberts Bay.
The Eden craft sector meeting in George drew an excellent
representation of crafters, retailers, trainers and government
officials. Eden includes the Oudtshoorn|Uniondale
towns from Plettenberg Bay down to Heidelberg.
RIGHT
Crafters, Vellomina Jooste, Susan Hofmeester and Paul
Pakatita,, Lyndon Metembo and Amos Post of the Tourism Helpdesk, at the
Central Karoo craft sector meeting in Beaufort West
1 March 2007
CRAFT SECTOR MEETINGS - NOW ALSO IN THE REGIONS
The Craft Sector meeting has been a regular feature on the WC craft landscape for the last 7 years.
Since the CCDI took over running the forum in 2002, it has been going uninterrupted for 4 years, having 11 meetings a year,
attended on average by 70 people.
The Craft Sector Meetings are open to any part of the craft industry to attend - crafters,
retailers, buyers, government bodies, developers, designers.
The CS meeting is, in fact, a networking and information forum. The CS meetings highlight CCDI programmes,
marketing and training opportunities, and partnership agreements with other governmental departments.
It also often serves as crafters' first introduction to the 'formal' craft sector and to the CCDI itself -
which many crafters describe as their 'home'. Above all, the CS meeting has been voted by crafters to be a
prime networking opportunity, where they share problems and build relationships. As speakers at the meeting,
crafters have the opportunity to share with the group their lessons, successes and triumphs. The CS meeting is a
representative forum of WC crafters, and has kept the CCDI in touch with the heart and soul of crafters at first base.
This is also the place where crafters without emails collect their monthly newsletters.
The Craft Sector meeting in Cape Town is always held on the 1st Wednesday of the month, starts at 1:30 and runs to about 3:30,
with refreshments.
INTRO TO CCDI MEETINGS
From February 2007, the CCDI is introducing an
Intro to the CCDI meeting at its Cape Town
headquarters for 'new' crafters, i.e. those crafters that
are connecting to the CCDI for the first time. The meeting will run on the 1st Wednesday of every month, from 12:00 to 13:00, just before the Craft Sector meeting.
At the meeting:
the CCDI's programmes will be explained,
crafters may register to be placed on the database,
crafters will receive information material, and
crafters will be able to show their products to the CCDI staff.
CAPE TOWN CRAFT SECTOR MEETING Date: 1st Wednesday of every month
Venue: CCDI, 3rd Floor, 75 Harrington Street, East City Cape Town
12:00: Intro to CCDI
13:30: Craft Sector Meeting with interesting relevant speakers
CRAFT SECTOR MEETINGS IN 3 WC REGIONS
With the appointment of our new Rural Outreach officer, Craft Sector meetings will now also be held in three of the Western Cape's regions -
the West Coast (2nd Wednesday of the month), Central Karoo (3rd Wednesday of the month) and Eden (4th Wednesday of the month).
Lyndon Metembo, the new Rural Outreach Officer, will be working in the West Coast, Central Karoo and Eden sub-regions.
You might see this colourful ROO-mobile flashing through the West Coast,
Eden or Central Karoo. That's what Lyndon Metembo, our Rural Outreach Officer (ROO!),
calls the official vehicle for his regional trips. Intern Candice Roux, manager Operations,
Nomzamo Landingwe, and manager Market Access Local and National, Xoliswa Phenya see him off on
his first trip.
