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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

BINGA Craft Centre is seeking to resuscitate its market base as it recovers from the disruption impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Established in 1985, the centre at some point had about 4 000 members drawn from across Binga District and would produce about 3 000 baskets per month.

Production fell due to a number of reasons, among them economic challenges and limited market, which were compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Membership once fell to about 1 000 at the height of economic challenges before Government chipped in to renovate the facility and re-train members in 2018.

As production was picking up following the renovations, which were completed in 2020, membership grew to 2 000, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw the main market sources cancelling orders, which drastically affected craftsmen and women.

Baskets from Binga are on high demand worldwide because of their unique cultural make-up and on a good day, each member can make up to US$2 000 per month, which dovetails with the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 for an upper middle-income society.

Binga Craft Centre manager, Mr Matabeki Mudenda said membership has grown to 1 000 weavers and production has reached 1 500 baskets per month.

“Our major project is basketry meaning there are more weavers than wood carvers. We are on the road to recover most of our producers and we have five new groups,” he said.

“The centre had gone down such that we could get market but fail to produce because most weavers had left due to dilapidated premises of which we thank Government for the resuscitation.

“Our biggest issue now is on the market especially after Covid-19. Before the pandemic we had orders from Britain, Spain, Japan, America in New Mexico and also Australia. They cancelled a lot of orders but for now they are trying to come back.”

The Binga Craft Centre exhibited at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in April and at the Victoria Falls International Expo in September as part of efforts to reach out to markets. ZimTrade has also come on board helping the centre to reach out to potential buyers.

Mr Mudenda said they were also using social media and have diversified most of their products through value addition.

“We are now trying to work hard to make sure we go back to those times when we could reach everybody. We are making products that are market-driven like the washing baskets, which were not initially part of Binga baskets,” he said.

“We are also trying to use product design and development as a benchmark to add more value and reach more markets.”

Mr Mudenda said Binga craftwork adds flavour to Zimbabwean products and revealed that ZimTrade will be taking some of their products to Frankfurt in Germany next year.

Binga Craft Centre is a community-based organisation dealing with arts and culture in the district. From 1989 up to date, Binga Craft Centre has done extensive work and most of its members’ livelihoods had been transformed and are able to take care of their families, pay school fees for their children many of whom are now in professional sectors.

Membership is spread across the district especially those areas with no other economic activities like agriculture and fishing. —@ncubeleon