AFRICAN CULTURE

Please welcome guest blogger, Lon Garber  aka: "hubby"

We are often asked about cultural challenges while living in Africa.  The item that immediately comes to mind is in African culture the group is far more important than any individual in the group. Family, village, and tribal concerns highly influence individual behaviors and decisions. In Southern Africa, this strong sense of community is called Ubuntu.

 Sharing is central to Ubuntu. The person earning an income must help others in the group less fortunate. The concept of "group" includes extended family, friends , and often anyone of the same village or tribe. The person with a house is expected to provide lodging for other group members for as long as the visitor needs it.  Anyone who shows up is free to partake of any meal, explaining many unannounced visitors at lunch time. We once hosted a visitor no one knew. We all thought it was someone else's guest.

When anyone acts outside the perceived interest of the group, the group enforces both formal and informal compliance to bring the violator back in line with group wishes.

Ubuntu embodies a strong respect for authority. Children are taught to respect all adults and to obey them without questioning. Children must leave the room when adults are talking, to give up their seats to older persons, and to offer to carry items for anyone older. It's nice growing old in Africa.
Special respect is given to parents, grandparents, tribal elders, and government officials.

As with all social systems, Ubuntu can be applied both positively and negatively. At it's best, Africans take care of each other without need for government assistance. At it's worst, personal success is discouraged since others will reap most of the benefits of personal initiative.

Learning that a singular act of kindness caused us to be included in the recipient's group was one of our biggest shocks of Ubuntu. From then on, you are expected to help with even greater needs! From a Western perspective, such expectations feel like ingratitude; from an African perspective , it's just life.

You can read more about African culture, and our ups and downs of living in Africa by reading Lon's new book The Leap: living the life you dream about.  It's available online at:

http://longarberauthor.blogspot.com

Artisan Profile HELENA

Since hearing from followers that they love hearing about the artisans, I decided to re-publish a few. Here is a post about Helena

IN HER OWN WORDS :

 “Work of Our Hands” is a great help. I can make money with my own handiwork, a nice and honorable way to make ends meet. Maybe one day my children have to go to hospital or pay school fees, so I’m saving a bit of my commission for them. The rest I spend on foods and clothes for them.

Although at first, none of the ladies were very good at painting patterns ( under developed fine motor skills) Helena has learned fast , and is now our best detail painter. She is the only one so far who has mastered the zebra pattern. It's time to challenge her to even harder things, (which she hates and loves at the same time.) 

Helena is a treasure.  She and I have worked together since the beginning of Work Of Our Hands. (about 2004)

 As far as I know Helena has never been to school, yet she is very intelligent and talented. Because of the expense of school fees and uniforms ( about USA $30 per term) many parents of the poor, just don't send their kids to school.

At the beginning, Helena spoke no English and all of our communication was through an interpreter. Today, she understands almost everything said in English, and can make herself understood as well.( Ok we have to use a bit of pointing and hand signs, but we communicate well.)

Helena is skilled in paper mache, ( our first endeavor) seed bead jewelry making, ceramic bead making ( our best pattern painter) and lately she has been learning the potter's wheel. 

Helena is unmarried, but is in a monogamous relationship, and has 1 son about 5 years old. At least  one other boy calls her mom, but it gets confusing as the tribal people take care of children for each other, and it's sometimes impossible to really sort out the relationships. ( Cousins are often called sisters or brothers, plus there is no he or she pronouns in their language, so in English they might say for instance " my  brother, she......") which makes it all the more hard to figure out.

Helena looking a bit tired after our week long wheel workshop.

I am unsure of Helena's age 26 maybe?  She almost always has a smile on her face and is the first to help when something needs doing around the studio. As you can tell, I am very attached to her ! I feel all the ladies in the project are my African daughters, but I must admit Helena is a bit of a favorite!

She once said " Before you came Meme ( Meme means mother, Mrs. etc. it's a tribal title of respect) I was very bored !!

I have mentioned different times to the ladies that there is a proverb  ( Proverbs 22:29) that says something like " if you are skilled in your labor, you will stand before kings. Last month we saw this happen !  Helena was one of two ladies chosen to present gifts to the honorable Mrs. Pohamba, Namibia's first lady, when she visited our center. Helena all I can say is " YOU GO GIRL!" I'm very proud!

BUSY IN THE DENVER STUDIO

Lots of jewelry components in the prototype mode. No way to succeed except experiment and experiment more. ( Plus keep notes of course........how many times have I forgotten what glaze or technique I used ! ) Even when I get what I like finalized, there is still the question of will it sell, and can I teach it to the bead making ladies?? ) I know I know, need to concentrate on an African feeling line of components ! But flowers are my personal "thing"

Lest you think I just eat bonbons and watch T.V. ( don't have one) while I waiting for our return visa to Namibia..... here's my update of the basement "boutique" for Namibian made jewelry and a new shelf for my own pottery.

Love to see artist studios? visit here: http://mudcolony.blogspot.com/

Artisan profile: Lucia #1

Meet Lucia #1 (so called because we also have Lucia #2)

Lucia says: "I am 51 and the single mother of 10 children. Six boys and four girls. I and my family are really dependent of Work of our Hands and the money I make from making jewelry. I am not educated so I can only get domestic work sometimes. I use the money from Work Of Our Hands to buy food and pay for school fees for my children. My dream is to see my children graduate from college. One son is in his second year of college and another has been admitted this year. I also hope to have a small business at the open market one day."

Typical homes in Five rand camp

Lucia lives in " Five Rand" Squatter's camp so named because years ago the farmer charged 5$ South African Rand to stay a month in the camp. ( about 75 cents USA ). Now the camp property is owned by the city of Okahandja.  Residents can buy their plot for about $1,000 US $ but most do not. This means that the city can legally take away their home at any time ( or move them off the plot at least) The city has already sold some land to a developer but has not yet moved any residents. Should be interesting when it happens.

This is how residents of Five Rand camp get their water. They purchase a card from the city (looks like a credit card) and put money on the card. When the card is pushed in a slot on the grey box, water comes out the hose pipe. Then they just have to carry it home.